Callander council is looking to run the municipality more efficiently, and part of that is to eliminate its chief administrative officer position.
Council for the town, located just south of North Bay, passed a bylaw at its Nov. 24 meeting to eliminate the CAO role and instead create a new position: senior municipal director.
Ashley Bilodeau has been appointed to that position as the new leader of the municipality’s management team, effective Dec. 7.
Bilodeau was born and raised in North Bay, and says she is excited to move back to the area with her husband and two daughters after being away for more than 15 years.
"This position is a natural step up from her current role as director of development services in Kirkland Lake and years of municipal sector experience," said Callander Mayor Robb Noon in a news release.
"Additionally, her status as a professional planner with the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and Canadian Institute of Planners will surely assist council in achieving their identified goals and objectives related to growth in Callander."
She brings with her an undergraduate degree in geography from Laurentian University, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Queen’s University, and is currently working on a master’s degree in public administration from Western University.
Over the past year, council has been working with Expertise for Municipalities Non-Profit Association (E4m) on a modernization strategy.
"Part of this strategy saw council adopt a Council Term Plan, evaluate the skills and talents of the management team, and change the organizational structure to better align with the direction that council has chosen to take," explained Noon. "This included a departure from the CAO model and the creation of a new senior management position."
To fill the position, council, working with E4m, sought expressions of interest as a recruitment tool instead of the traditional approach of reviewing résumés.
"This approach allowed council to assess and select a candidate more efficiently," said Noon.“This is an important time for Callander, as we have been working for months, along with E4m, to make us more efficient and effective in the way we run the municipality.
– BayToday
