Kelly no longer with Chatham-Kent

CHATHAM-KENT — Thomas Kelly, the future CAO for Chatham-Kent and a central figure in public meetings with residents of Wheatley, is no longer employed by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

An announcement was made last Thursday, March 17 outlining his sudden departure.

No reason was given for Kelly’s departure, citing privacy issues.

THOMAS KELLY

“We understand that there may be questions about this matter,” said the announcement. “The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has a responsibility to respect the privacy of our employees. The Municipality will not be making any further comments at this time.” Meanwhile, Don Shropshire will remain in the position for the coming weeks as the municipality works to find a replacement for Kelly.

Last November, the municipality announced that Kelly — the longtime manager of infrastructure and engineering — would be succeedingShropshire in the CAO position upon his pending retirement.

That move was delayed earlier this year when the municipality announced that they were dealing with many challenges and one of them was Wheatley’s downtown explosion.