Grimsby’s CAO departs
Chief administrator says it was ‘great honour’ to serve town
The Town of Grimsby is searching for a new chief administrator.
Derik Brandt is no longer town manager. In an emailed statement Tuesday morning he said he spoke with Mayor Jeff Jordan after Monday evening’s council meeting and made it official Tuesday morning.
“I’ve enjoyed serving the residents of Grimsby as their town manager — it was a great honour,” Brandt wrote in his statement.
Brandt was hired by the previous council to replace Keith Vogl, a longtime town employee who served five years as CAO. Brandt came on board with the town in February 2016.
A former politician himself — Brandt was a councillor in Sault Ste. Marie in the early 2000s — he had previously held chief administrative officer positions for South Glengarry and Grey County. He was also manager of economic development and tourism for Thunder Bay.
Brandt cited the large council turnover during last fall’s municipal election as the reason he left.
“There was a significant amount of change on council after the election and the new council wants to move forward with a clean break and I can respect that,” he said in his statement.
In a release from the town Tuesday afternoon, council thanked Brandt “for his numerous contributions to the organization and community over the last several years.”
The release said the town will undertake a “robust recruitment process” to find a successor over the next few months. In the meantime, council plans to appoint an acting CAO.