Archive

Orangeville appoints new interim CAO, Jennifer Innis, while looking for replacement

March 23, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Town of Orangeville has hired Jennifer Innis as Interim Acting Chief Administrative Officer following the retirement of Raymond Osmond earlier in the month.

Ms. Innis started the position on Mar. 13.

After obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in political science from the University of Guelph, Ms. Innis served on Regional Council in the Town of Guelph and has extensive experience working for members of Provincial Parliament.

She has around 20 years of experience working in the administrative side of municipal government, including being the executive assistant to the Mayor of Caledon for 10 years.

At the provincial level, she worked as a legislative assistant to Premier Ernie Eves and local MPP David Tilson when he represented the riding at the provincial level. She has also worked with various provincial cabinet ministers.

Ms. Innis has had a lifelong interest in politics after being encouraged to be a part of it when she was quite young.

“When I was 14, my dad sent me to my very first political conference,” she explained. “He said, ‘you can get involved and know you can make a difference, or you never have to go again. But I want you to try it.’ I went and thought it was pretty cool. I got to help formulate party policy. If that party was elected, it would be come legislation, and I wasn’t even old enough to vote.”

Orangeville’s Chief Administrative Officer is responsible for the administration of staff at the township.

“The CAO is responsible to the mayor and council and for carrying out the wishes of council through the administration,” Ms. Innis explained. “Council is there to set the policy, the staff is there to implement it.”

There is a current priority to fill the position of Acting CAO on a permanent basis, and council is currently working on a course of action to determine who will be the new permanent CAO.

“The next step is to work with staff to implement the budget and the Strategic Plan that Council set out,” Ms. Innis explained. “They have done a great job where they approved the budget and hopefully approving the Strategic Plan this evening (Mar. 20 council meeting). That really sets the tone of the work that needs to be done.”

Ms. Innis said she is looking forward to the experience of being in the position for the next three or four months.

“I’m a people person, and I’m a big believer that when we support our staff, they will in turn support the community with good quality service and care. I’m looking forward to working with the team here,” she said. 

“In my first week here, I’ve found it to be a highly collaborative environment where the council and staff care for the community and one another. It’s a great working environment and I’m looking to continue to foster that keep that going strong until the new CAO starts.”

Readers Comments (0)