Guelph Chief Administration Officer Ann Pappert said her decision to leave Guelph is a personal one and not related to contract negotiations.
The city announced Thursday afternoon that Pappert had decided to leave her position when her current contract expires October 17.
She and the city had been in discussions since mid-March on an extension of her contract.
Pappert said in an interview Thursday afternoon that her departure wasn’t as a result of those negotiations.
“The negotiations have been positive. I think that from my perspective, quite frankly, it’s been a positive conversation. This is more of a personal decision on my part,” Pappert said.
“We’ve been talking since mid-March, but the decision I made over the weekend,” Pappert said. “It is early in the (contract) process.”
Pappert joined the city in 2008 as Executive Director of Community and Social Services and was named CAO in September 2011. Her current salary is $263,757.
“I’ve been with the organization for eight years, five as CAO, and I think that sometimes you make a decision based on timing, contribution and a whole range of reasons,” she said.
“The negotiations were fine. What we were negotiating was an extension; we weren’t opening up the whole contract.”
Mayor Cam Guthrie said he and council were told Tuesday that Pappert would not be returning.
“When I was told I was a little bit taken aback by it,” Guthrie said.
“I think most of council was in the midst of looking to the future with the contract.”
He too said the negotiations had been positive.
“The back and forth of negotiations were no surprise. I thought the discussion was positive.”
He said the move opens the door for the city to look at where it is, where it’s going and what they need to get there.
“When these situations present themselves I look at them as an opportunity for us as an organization,” the Mayor said.
Pappert said her decision was not as a result of having another job lined up.
“I’m very in the present right now. In making this decision to what’s in the best interest of myself and the organization. I’ve got to give some thought before moving forward,” she said.
“I’m not ready to retire. Some time in my garden would be good, just to take a break. We’ve done a lot of good work here at the city and it’s been a lot of intense work. We’ve done a lot of good things and a wee break would be on the agenda for me.”
Pappert said her departure should not be an indication that the City of Guelph is a difficult place to work. She said it’s quite common these days for senior administration in a municipality to move around.
“If you look at Ontario you see a lot of movement in the senior level. That context needs to be understood. The higher you go in local government positions …. the transition is quicker than it was 20 years ago.”
Guthrie said Pappert will be involved in the transition to a new CAO.
“We’ll be working on that,” Guthrie said.
Her final day has not yet been determined.
