By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

New CAO announced for Lethbridge County

Apr 5, 2018 | 2:07 PM

LETHBRIDGE —  A new Administrative Officer (CAO) takes over at Lethbridge County on May 28.
 
On Thursday (Apr 5) morning, County Reeve Lorne Hickey announced Ann Mitchell has been appointed to the position and will take over from Sheldon Steinke, who stepped in as interim CAO following the retirement of Rick Robinson in September 2017.
 
Mitchell’s credentials include a B.A. from Lakehead University and a Master certificate in Municipal Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University. She is a Certified Municipal Officer (Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario), CAO mentor (Ontario Municipal Management and Administration), and an active member of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA).
 
The county’s new CAO has 20-years of experience in municipal government, with the last 13 years spent as CAO in rural municipalities in Ontario. She last served as CAO of the Municipality of Sioux Lookout, from 2012 to April 2018.
 
According to Hickey, Mitchell’s experience at Sioux Lookout prepared her for the challenges faced by rural municipalities that are geographically large and encompass changing diversities of population and economy.
 
That experience will come into play, as Mitchell oversees the 2900 square kilometre county, which is home to irrigated and dryland crops, as well as 500 square kilometres of intensive livestock operations. The County has a population of about 10,400, as well as another 110,000 people in the municipalities that surround the county.
 
Mitchell says she was drawn to Lethbridge County because of Council’s commitment to consensus building in the county and region, its customer service orientation, and its focus on agricultural innovation.