Township CAO/clerk Patty Sinnamon has been let go by the municipality.
Contacted July 2 after social media reports of the termination surfaced, Mayor Neil Driscoll would only confirm Sinnamon was no longer with the township, providing few other details.
“What we can tell you is, as of this morning, Patty Sinnamon is no longer employed with the Township of Mapleton and council wishes her the best in her future endeavours,” said Driscoll that afternoon. Driscoll said he was surprised the News had got out into the community so quickly and noted council had wanted to comply with a request to give Sinnamon time to advise her family before a press release was issued.
Later that day, the township issued a notice stating a special meeting would be held on July 6 at 1:30pm “Re: the CAO/clerk position.”
Following the meeting, which was held in-camera as a personnel matter, the township announced in a press release that council has appointed director of public works Brad McRoberts as the acting CAO/clerk.
An agenda for the meeting indicated a bylaw appointing an acting CAO would be given first, second and third reading at the meeting.
“Council appreciates Mr. McRoberts accepting this position as well as retaining his current role as director of public works until a permanent CAO/clerk is hired,” states the township in the release.
Driscoll said council is considering utilizing an outside agency to assist with the search for a new top administrator.
Contacted by the Wellington Advertiser, on July 7, Sinnamon confirmed she was terminated, but said she could not discuss the reasons for her departure from the township.
“It’s a legal matter at this point and I’m just going to have to let my lawyers deal with it,” said Sinnamon, who earned $128,783 in 2014 and had been employed by Mapleton and the former Village of Drayton for nearly 18 years.
“What I can tell you is I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the township. I had an amazing staff to work with,” she stated, adding, “The mayor gave me the opportunity to tell my staff myself that I was terminated and I took that opportunity to do that.
“I’m going to certainly miss my staff and I’m going to miss the people of Mapleton as well. We had a tremendous Canada Day event and I’ve received lots of phone calls and actually cards in the mail from residents, so I’m going to miss that.”
Sinnamon has been with the township since it was formed through amalgamation in 1999. Prior to that she had been administrative assistant with the Village of Drayton since 1997.
Originally Mapleton’s deputy clerk, Sinnamon has been CAO/clerk since June of 1999.
McRoberts was hired as public works director June 10, 2014. He has 25 years of experience in public works, including senior management, having served with the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, where he was manager of public works, and the City of Owen Sound as director of operations.
