The CAO position is the highest ranking official in local government that doesn’t have the job title of either mayor or city councillor, and it’s the only staff position at city hall that’s hired by a committee made up of the mayor and councillors. So yes, it’s a pretty important job, and it’s not like there’s any shortage of issues or needs for the new woman in charge as she nears the end of her first year in charge. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #Repeat – New-ish Year, New-ish CAO (feat. Tara Baker)”
Tag: CAO
This Week at Council: Six Minutes and Five Seconds
So it was a short city council meeting this week. Really short. Good thing then that we have some unfinished business from last week’s council business, the Local Boards and Shared Services budget for 2025. The actual business of passing the budget was, itself, brief, but there was a lot explaining about what the budget is paying for, especially in the case of social services, the library, and the police. So let’s dig into two meetings for the price of one. Continue reading “This Week at Council: Six Minutes and Five Seconds”
RECAP: City Council Meeting for January 28, 2025
We’ve made it to the end of the month! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for January 28, 2025”
GUELPH POLITICAST #452 – New Year, New CAO (feat. Tara Baker)
The CAO position is the highest ranking official in local government that doesn’t have the job title of either mayor or city councillor, and it’s the only staff position at city hall that’s hired by a committee made up of the mayor and councillors. So yes, it’s a pretty important job, and it’s not like there’s any shortage of issues or needs for the new woman in charge as she enters her first full year in charge. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #452 – New Year, New CAO (feat. Tara Baker)”
This Week at Council: Back to Work!
After a long winter’s break, Guelph city council got back to business with two meetings this past week, one was entirely closed to the public but deeply impactful and the other was Committee of the Whole where some administrative stuff happened. Not irrelevant, that “stuff” included a co-ordinated plan to petition upper levels of government about the issues that matter to Guelph. But for now, what matters is this recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Back to Work!”
City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 28, 2025 Meeting?
The month at city council comes to a quick end with the regular meeting just two weeks after Committee of the Whole. On the agenda, aside from the ratification of the committee agenda, is an item for discussion in-camera and the approval of a grant funding agreement with the provincial government. Will there be any last minute controversy? Maybe, but for now you just get the preview of this meeting… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 28, 2025 Meeting?”
RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for January 14, 2025
Have you missed city council recaps? They’re baaaaaaack. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for January 14, 2025”
Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 14, 2025 Meeting?
Starting a week late following the Christmas holidays, council will meet for the first Committee of the Whole of 2025 and there will be a lot of place setting for what staff are working on for the next 12 months. In this agenda, the new CAO will lay out her agenda and then intergovernmental staff will lay out theirs when it comes to advocacy. Surprises? There may be a few! Let’s check out the preview! Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 14, 2025 Meeting?”
Tara Baker Hired as the CAO at the City of Guelph
The long search has ended, and a choice has been made: Tara Baker is Guelph’s new Chief Administrative Officer. The hire was announced Tuesday in a media release from the City of Guelph, filling a vacancy left when Scott Stewart retired in June. Baker will now put 13 years of Guelph experience, including eight as the main financial manager, to working on a full slate of issues as city hall’s top administrator. Continue reading “Tara Baker Hired as the CAO at the City of Guelph”
RECAP: City Council Meeting for August 22, 2024
The new Chief Administrative Officer will be revealed! Or not! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for August 22, 2024”








