Sandra Clancy, the City of Peterborough’s chief administrative officer, is retiring after a 38-year career with the city.
According to a media release from the city, Clancy advised city council on Monday (December 12) that she will be retiring effective April 28, 2023.
“I have had a long, very rewarding career working for the City of Peterborough,” Clancy states in the media release. “I’m looking forward to retiring and this next stage in my life where I will have more time to spend with family and other personal activities.”
Clancy first joined the city in 1985 as chief accountant. In 1996, she became manager of finance and, in 2011, treasurer and director of corporate services.
She was appointed as the city’s chief administrative officer in 2018, after previous CAO Alan Seabrooke led a restructuring of the city’s senior management that saw five director positions restructured into three commissioner roles. Seabrooke moved into the community services commissioner position and then, a year later, left the city to become city manager of Red Deer in Alberta.
“On behalf of City Council, I extend my heartfelt thanks to Sandra for her leadership and service throughout her 38-year career with the City of Peterborough,” states Mayor Jeff Leal in the media release. “Sandra played key roles at the municipality through significant periods, including the 2004 flood recovery and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. We thank Sandra for her commitment to Peterborough and its residents. We wish her well in her retirement, but we know this isn’t goodbye on a personal level as we are looking forward to hearing about her retirement and grandchildren.
As the city’s head bureaucrat, Clancy earned just over $300,000 in salary and benefits in 2021 — an increase of more than $90,000 from the previous year.
Clancy’s time at the city was not without controversy. In 2021, she complained to the city’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno that previous mayor Diane Therrien had breached municipal code of conduct by-laws by pressuring her to retire earlier than she had otherwise planned, and had also spoken “unfairly and disrespectfully” about her performance and that of city staff to the point of harassment. Giorno’s investigation into the complaint found that Therrien did not did not breach any municipal code of conduct by-laws or engage in harassment.
City Council will lead the recruitment process to find the city’s next CAO.
