The City of Sault Ste. Marie is once again on the hunt for a chief administrative officer (CAO).
During a Feb. 11 meeting, city council revealed that the contract to employ current CAO Al Horsman would not be renewed after his current four-year contract expires at the end of September, 2019.
Horsman was hired in 2015 following the retirement of long-time CAO Joe Fratesi. Horsman had been serving as deputy CAO of infrastructure, development and enterprise services with the City of Guelph when he was recruited to relocate to the Sault.
As a cost-saving measure, council voted to use a self-elected selection committee, in lieu of a professional headhunter, to find a replacement for Horsman. It will be comprised of Mayor Christian Provenzano and Councillors Rick Niro and Donna Hilsinger.
"It's been a pleasure working with the previous council and with yourselves," Horsman told city council.
"I've really enjoyed working with staff. We have a tremendous team here in all of the areas. They're great people and they're really conscientious and dedicated employees.”
Categorizing his relationship with the city and staff as “very positive,” Horsman said his departure was a mutually agreed upon decision between him and council.
His contract expires on Sept. 28.
– With files from Dave Helwig/SooToday.com
