Plot thickens: Springwater CAO resigns after landing new role with City of Barrie
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com
Dec 30, 2024
Springwater’s chief administrative officer is leaving the township to take on an executive role with the City of Barrie.
Scott LaMantia, the city’s manager of marketing and communications, told BarrieToday in an email on Monday that Schmidt has been hired for the role of general manager, community and corporate services.
Schmidt’s resignation has caused concern among some Springwater councillors because, as the township’s chief executive, he has been immersed in the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion plans into Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships.
Springwater council was originally scheduled to discuss Schmidt’s resignation at a meeting on Jan. 2. However, four members of council petitioned for a special closed session meeting that was held at the township’s administration centre this past Friday.
“Prior to resolving into closed to discuss the resignation of CAO Schmidt, it is important to note that a meeting was scheduled at the request of myself, the Office of the Mayor, on Thursday, Jan. 2,” Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin said in her open session preamble Friday, before council resolved into closed session. “That meeting was scheduled to discuss the pending decisions of council to effectively transition our corporation forward in a timely manner and was set with both outreach to all members of council in consideration for the approved office closure by this council, weighing the significance of the situation,” she added. “The petition to call an alternative meeting by four members of council, in my opinion, is done so with the illusion of urgency and the suggestion of necessity and yet again reactive, first to the office of the elected mayor and secondly, fuelled by the City of Barrie.”
Coughlin said she would “reluctantly resolve into closed” session, but not without first acknowledging the many staff members who gave up a portion of their holiday break to facilitate the meeting. “It is my opinion that this meeting is untimely and unfounded,” she said. “Abruptly altering the course of this meeting out of spite, whether towards me, CAO Schmidt or the City of Barrie, is unwarranted.”
Deputy Mayor George Cabral disagreed. “To suggest this is out of spite in any way shape or form, I don’t think that’s an appropriate comment to make and I’m just saying I’m disappointed in that,” Cabral countered after the mayor finished speaking. “Given the nature of this matter and given the timing of this matter, and yes, it’s unfortunate, but it’s also urgent to deal with it, in my opinion,” Cabral added.
He was not alone.
Councillors Anita Moore, Danielle Alexander and Phil Fisher were on the same page. “Given the sensitive nature of the current annexation situation with the City of Barrie, I fully supported the expedited special session of council,” Alexander said in an email to BarrieToday. “It is imperative that the manner of Mr. Schmidt’s departure from the township be dealt with swiftly and professionally.”
Fisher thought a meeting was required out of a sense of urgency and necessity. “When a CAO or any senior member leaves an organization, it is imperative to have that position filled and a contingency plan in place.” Fisher wrote in an email to BarrieToday. “Letting time pass by and not dealing with this situation urgently is poor leadership and understanding of the situation at hand. “Having our CAO depart and go to the City of Barrie, given the situation, we are finding ourselves in with our land boundary discussions is also of some major concern,” he added.
Moore said the mitigating circumstances around Schmidt’s resignation required the special meeting. “I agree that (the) timing was complicated, but the situation is also complicated with mitigating circumstances not normally part of an average resignation,” Moore said in an email to BarrieToday. “Had the CAO not been part of intimate conversations with the City of Barrie and the provincial facilitator, this may have played out differently. “In order to protect all parties and the process, whether real or perceived, the move to call an urgent special meeting Dec 27, 2024 was warranted,” she added.
Moore said it was “critically important” to put a plan in place quickly to ease staff and resident concerns, ensure business continuity and have as little distraction and disruption as possible while recruiting a new CAO.
Forbidden to discuss the details of the closed session meeting, Moore characterized it as “productive.” “This meeting was extremely productive with many important discussions and decisions made, which provided a positive way forward for all involved,” Moore said.
Coun. Brad Thompson didn’t share Moore’s view. He said the meeting didn’t accomplish anything. “Nothing was accomplished today that could not have been looked after on Jan. 2,” he said in an email to BarrieToday on Friday evening. “The drama that four members of council caused today was unnecessary.”
Coun. Matt Garwood agreed with Thompson. “While I fully support the importance of convening to determine the best course forward for Springwater, I expressed concerns regarding the timing of the meeting,” Garwood said in an email to BarrieToday. “Our residents benefit most when our team has had the chance to recharge and spend quality time with their families. “I still believe that scheduling the meeting once business resumes on Jan. 2, 2025, would have been appropriate and allow us to achieve our objectives effectively,” he added.
Coming out of the closed session, it was resolved that the mayor and staff proceed as directed in closed and staff report back at the Jan. 2 special meeting of council on next steps.
Springwater’s outgoing CAO says he never left township ‘high and dry’
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com
Jan 03, 2025
Faced with a gaping hole at the top of its executive food chain, Springwater Township council took less than a minute to rectify the situation Thursday afternoon.
During a special session of council that started at 4:30 p.m. and wrapped up one minute later, Springwater council appointed Doug Herron, currently the township’s director of planning and development services, as interim chief administrative officer and Greg Bedard, currently the director of finance, as the township’s interim deputy chief administrative officer. Both positions take effect immediately.
The appointment bylaws will be presented at the Jan.15 meeting of council.
Herron and Bedard were appointed to their temporary roles following the departure of Springwater Township’s chief administrative officer Jeff Schmidt, who resigned his position to take on the role of general manager of community and corporate services with the City of Barrie. “I provided my resignation to Springwater on Dec. 19, which included six weeks of notice,” Schmidt said in an unsolicited email to BarrieToday on Thursday evening. “My last day was scheduled to be Jan. 31.”
According to Schmidt, his contract with Springwater required a minimum four-week notice if he was planning to vacate his role.
Schmidt’s decision to join the City of Barrie while Springwater Township and Oro-Medonte Township were in the middle of a dispute with the city regarding its boundary expansion plans caused serious consternation among some township councillors.
A meeting to discuss Schmidt’s resignation was originally scheduled for yesterday (Jan. 2), but four township councillors felt it necessary to deal with the resignation earlier and called for a special closed-session meeting on Dec. 27. “Prior to resolving into closed to discuss the resignation of CAO Schmidt, it is important to note that a meeting was scheduled at the request of myself, the Office of the Mayor, on Thursday, Jan. 2,” Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin said in her open-session preamble at the Dec. 27 meeting, prior to council moving into closed session. “That meeting was scheduled to discuss the pending decisions of council to effectively transition our corporation forward in a timely manner and was set with both outreach to all members of council in consideration for the approved office closure by this council, weighing the significance of the situation,” she added.
Coughlin said she felt the special closed-session meeting was called with “the illusion of urgency and the suggestion of necessity.”
Not everyone on council agreed.
“We have been in discussions surrounding the land-boundary adjustment for some time and our CAO (Schmidt) has been at the forefront of these discussions,” Coun. Phil Fisher said in an email to BarrieToday. “I will not speculate on how this could negatively impact our municipality, however it is something that we as a council should be very cognizant of.”
Coun. Anita Moore also had concerns. “Had the CAO not been part of intimate conversations with the City of Barrie and the provincial facilitator, this may have played out differently,” she said in an email. “In order to protect all parties and the process, whether real or perceived, the move to call an urgent special meeting Dec. 27 was warranted.”
According to Schmidt, when he tendered his resignation on Dec. 19, he also advised township officials that he was removing himself from all City of Barrie discussions moving forward. “There was a meeting with the provincial facilitator on or about Dec. 23 that I did not attend,” Schmidt said.
He noted that after the Dec. 27 closed-session meeting, which he did not attend, he was asked if he would allow the township to waive his working notice period, which he agreed to, provided the township honour and provide his full compensation.
“I didn’t leave Springwater ‘high and dry,’ as suggested by some,” Schmidt said. “Nor should they have been caught ‘off-guard’. “I provided ample notice for them to transition,” he added.
Schmidt said he was planning on staying with the township until the end of January to assist them through this transition. “I acted in a professional and ethical way,” he said. “To suggest otherwise is 100 per cent incorrect.”
Schmidt’s interim replacements are both relatively new to the township. Herron was named director of planning and development services on Feb. 5, 2024, while Bedard was named director of finance on May 7, 2024.
Herron has more than 20 years of experience, primarily with the Town of Wasaga Beach, including five years as the director of planning and economic initiatives. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Western University and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Public Planners and Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
Bedard has more than 10 years of experience in municipal finance, including his last role, director of finance at the Township of Minden Hills. He holds a bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in accounting and public management. Additionally, he is accredited as a Certified Municipal Revenue Professional (CMRP) and is currently pursuing certification as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).