Communication with city council, staff and the public will be central to Shari Lichterman’s tenure as City of Greater Sudbury CAO.
So described the city’s new top boss in conversation with Sudbury.com earlier this week, a few days into the challenge-seeking bureaucrat's new job.
“I believe in talking very openly with residents and concerned stakeholders,” she said.
“I believe in trying to open their questions as directly and honestly as I can. There are going to be critics of city hall, and sometimes their criticism is justified, other times they may be misinformed, so we need to make sure we're putting out good information in a way that gets to people.”
It’s similar with city council members, she said.
“I try to limit the number of surprises they get with regular communication, not just at the formal structured meetings with council but during those times in between when you’re letting them know things that are coming forward and helping them deal with problems in their wards,” she said.
Lichterman was named city CAO effective March 19, capping off a national search which attracted 88 applicants.
Ontario Municipal Administrators Association executive director Scott Vokey described her as “highly regarded in the sector.”
Lichterman was terminated effective immediately from her latest role as City of Mississauga CAO last year following a change in mayor, in what Vokey described as a regular occurrence as political tides change, like “the coach of a major sports team.”
Former City of Greater Sudbury CAO Ed Archer’s employment was similarly terminated by city council last year, capping off an eight-year tenure with the city.
In addition to there being a job opening, Lichterman said the role in Sudbury attracted her because it presented a challenge.
“The CAO role that I had been in in Mississauga was for a very large city, a very complex role, so I was looking for another CAO role that was for a big city, a challenging and complex role,” she said, adding, “I really enjoy a challenge and being part of finding solutions.”
The city embarking on a large-scale event centre project in the city’s downtown core also makes for a good fit, she said, noting that prior to joining the public sector in Mississauga 10 years ago she was employed in the private sector in sports and recreation management.
“It’s going to be a challenging project,” she said. “Every construction project right now is challenging with cost escalations and now this U.S. tariff situation lends its own challenges, but I’m excited.”
Public sector work has unique rewards which Lichterman said she prefers over the private sector.
“The outcome of that is better quality of life and improving your community versus just doing it for the bottom line, dividends and that kind of thing,” she said.
“We are in the middle of a housing crisis, climate crisis, and I want to have a role in helping to address some of those problems and being able to oversee human services, to me, is a good challenge.”
When city council terminated Archer’s employment, Mayor Paul Lefebvre flagged growth and job creation as key goals the new CAO would be asked to focus on.
On these fronts, Lichterman said, “It’s really enabling growth by ensuring we put the infrastructure in place and the approvals from a zoning and planning perspective to allow for more housing in this community.”
Housing intensification and putting the infrastructure in place will be keys to accommodating this growth, alongside ensuring a quality of life that retains people.
This is no easy task within a financial climate in which the city faces an annual infrastructure spending gap of at least $130 million, she said.
Time and time again, local elected officials have said that more funding needs to come from senior levels of government.
“You really need to continue the advocacy," Lichterman said. “The mayor's a great advocate on that side as well, and my role will be to provide all the supporting information and financial plans so we can make that happen.”
For now, Lichterman said her priority is getting to know Greater Sudbury staff and getting settled, with her husband expected to arrive soon.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
