County's CAO out
Moore leaves following closed session of council
The top manager at Northumberland County is no longer in that job following a lengthy private meeting on Monday.
Warden Brian Ostrander announced that Jennifer Moore, Chief Aminstrative Officer for the past decade was no longer employed by the county, effective immediately.
“County council wishes her all the best in her future pursuits,” Ostrander said in a news release.
Council had gathered on Monday morning for a special session to consider where to make cuts to keep a lid on spending in the 2026 budget. It needs to find millions in cuts to hold the tax increase to its goal of 5 per cent.
The meeting started at 9 a.m. and after about 15 minutes went into a closed session to discuss some elements in private.
That closed session lasted three hours and for some reason took a severe turn.
When council came back into public session shortly after noon, it quickly and quietly with no discussion passed a motion to accept a staff decision made in private. It said the budget issues would be discussed at a later date.
Then, the meeting quietly ended.
A few hours later Ostrander issued a news release announcing Moore's departure and lauding her accomplishments.
The news release said no interim CAO had been appointed and senior management will report directly to council.
Yes, this leaves a lot of questions about the budgeting process and key projects, including our new bridge.
Re: County CAO no Moore
So council decides after meeting in closed session to pass a motion to accept "a staff decision" ending the CAO's employment. Let's assume it was her decision (and not that of some ambitious fellow staff member making a bold bid to move up the ladder).
Now what could have driven the former CAO to take such a consequential step? If we allow ourselves a bit of idle speculation while digesting breakfast, perhaps she was mightily miffed that her proposal to find millions in revenue -- not cuts in spending -- had been rebuffed by council. And if our unfounded rumination is anywhere close to the truth, council was wise to have done so. The notion of charging a toll to cross the bridge in Campbellford to pay for a new one in town would have likely been met with fierce resistance, even if it were explained the transit fee would be transitory, say four, five years -- a decade at most.
Now that we have dodged that speculative bullet, we should offer up our thoughts and prayers to council, urging them to find the wisdom and resolve to craft a budget that meets our current and future needs with the least amount of harm to our personal financial health.
(And council, if you are paying attention, I was only joking about a toll bridge.)
This seems unusual, did they not like what she had to say about cuts. It would appear that this May be in a law suit for dismissal. I am looking forward to what the county councillors on the waterfront say about the new bridge. No doubt employees don,t want cuts but see in the news, where Municipalities are complaining no money. I think it is time for Municipalities to cut some fat so there is money for needed projects in Trent Hills case a bridge and hospital. Bring to your attention Trent Hills was going to do a renovation at around a hundred grand according to the picture in the window. They got a grant for Covid around eight hundred thousand and they blew it all on the Municipal office. New furniture etc. Old furniture stored in the old municipal building. How much money did it bring in??? Maybe Art you can get the numbers.