Four months ago, Thomas Kelly was heralded as the new CAO of Chatham-Kent; today he is no longer employed by the municipality.
In mid-November, after Kelly spent nine years as general manager of infrastructure of engineering, Mayor Darrin Canniff announced he was taking over the CAO position as a replacement for Don Shropshire, who was retiring.
Days after the announcement, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development received a harassment complaint, with the employer named as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Previously published reports said the complaint was against Kelly.
Instead of being formerly named as Shropshire’s replacement, the Kelly issue stretched on. Shropshire told The Voice in late 2021 one thing he knew for sure – he would be retired by the time budget deliberations rolled around in late January.
Late January arrived, and Shropshire was still here as CAO, a position he continues to occupy today.
Kelly, on the other hand, after successive weeks of in-camera special meetings by municipal council, is no longer in the employ of the municipality.
Through it all, councillors and municipal officials remained tight lipped about the matter. Little has changed.
“We understand that there may be questions about this matter. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has a responsibility to respect the privacy of our employees. The municipality will not be making any further comments at this time,” officials stated in a media release.
As for finding Shropshire’s replacement, it’s back to the drawing board.
More details as they become available.
