HORNEPAYNE — It’s a sad but understandable goodbye.
Aileen Singh, chief administrative officer for Hornepayne, has tendered her resignation effective Sept. 20.
Mayor Cheryl Fort and the council accepted Singh’s resignation at their most recent council meeting on July 24.
In a statement provided to Dougall Media, Singh said she is thankful for her time in the community of Hornepayne and that she has learned a lot working alongside the mayor, council, and residents.
As to why she is leaving, Singh indicated her resignation is due to personal reasons and to move closer to her family.
Fort spoke with Dougall Media on July 29 to share her supportive thoughts and wish Singh success in her future endeavours.
“Accepting resignation from an employee is always with mixed feelings. You want the best for them and, of course, they want the best for themselves so they have to make these decisions. It’s always sad to see someone go but, at the same time, they need to make the choices that are best for them.
“We’re sad to see (Aileen) go . . . the whole time she’s been here, it was really a good time for Hornepayne to see a completely outside perspective of our community, of the province, and get an up close personal look at both the challenges and opportunities within our municipality, our province and Northern Ontario,” she said.
It was in June 2022 that Singh came to Hornepayne from British Columbia after an extensive search by Hornepayne’s mayor and council.
She took over from then-CAO Gail Jaremy, who retired after serving in the role for six years.
As Fort highlighted, Singh came highly qualified and ready to take-on life in Northern Ontario.
“It’s one of those things with small municipalities. I’m not sure how many across the North have taken the risk of hiring somebody from out of province and new to the sector but we knew that risk was there – that they’d possibly go back home.
"At the same time, you have to challenge your community and I think overall we’ve learned so much from this experience – to better Hornepayne, to better council, and to prepare Aileen for another position elsewhere,” she said.
In addition to accepting Singh’s resignation, Fort and the council formed a hiring committee consisting of Deputy Mayor Peter Kistemaker, Coun. Belinda Kistemaker, and Municipal Government Wayfinders consultant, Michael Wildman.
Fort noted Wildman has worked with the municipality before, facilitating service delivery reviews and consulting on Hornepayne’s strategic plan.
“He’s assisted our CAOs – both past and current – in mentoring and helping them with their position. We respect his opinions,” she said.
Coun. Drago Stefanic was named an alternate member of the committee as well.
Fort said the municipality’s posting for a new CAO should go live by Aug. 6 and will stay up until the last Friday of the month. She also said the hiring committee could decide to extend the deadline if necessary.
