Email leak highlights reason for Stouffville CAO's resignation
Resignation letter made public on Facebook by former Oak Ridges-Markham MP Paul Calandra

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 20, 2016
Ali Raza

Rob Raycroft's letter outlining his reasons for resigning as Whitchurch-Stouffville's acting chief administrative officer has been made public on Facebook by former Oak Ridges-Markham MP Paul Calandra.

Calandra said the private email between Raycroft and Mayor Justin Altmann has spread across town, and he posted it on Facebook to spark discussion about the municipality's inability to retain a CAO.

“It’s beyond stupid, to be honest,” Calandra said. “You can overlook one or two (CAOs), but when you add four CAOs to everybody else who has left the town, at some point you gotta take some type of action.”

Raycroft announced his resignation last week. He will continue to serve as leisure and community services director.

Calandra says he wanted to encourage council to do something about the CAO turnovers.

In his letter, Raycroft states he is committed to his role as leisure and community services director, a position he has held for 12 years.

The letter also speaks to conflict at town hall.

“I won’t accept aggressive behaviour or threats of being sued/harassment charges on the phone,” the letter reads. “It’s very disappointing that this is what staff have to endure at the municipal offices.”

Raycroft announced that he will remain as CAO until Feb. 1, 2017, and makes recommendations to council to hire an interim CAO on contract until January 2019.

Town spokesperson Glenn Jackson told the Sun-Tribune that both Raycroft and Altmann were “unavailable for comment” regarding the leaked email.

The town’s four former CAOs resigned or were dismissed from their positions in the last two years. Raycroft and fire chief Rob McKenzie served as acting CAOs. McKenzie resigned after two weeks in May, and Raycroft announced his resignation after approximately eight months.

Prior to that, Marc Pourvahidi had served as CAO from May 5, 2015, to his dismissal on Nov. 18, 2016. Pourvahidi was on a leave of absence from April until his dismissal due to a “personnel matter”.

Pourvahidi was acting CAO from March to May 2015 after Andrew McNeely was placed on administrative leave. McNeely resigned on April 21, 2015.