Caledon's new chief administrative officer begins work
By ALAN LICZYK Staff Reporter

Doug Barnes

Caledon's new chief administrative officer would like to stay on track with the good things the Town is doing and see that residents receive more information about this work.

Doug Barnes started his new job Nov. 12, taking over from former CAO Patrick Moyle who left in the summer for the CAO job at Halton region.

Barnes had been the assistant deputy minister of housing for the last four years. Prior to that he was assistant deputy minister of the environment for six years and for one year before that he was assistant deputy minister of municipal affairs. He graduated with a degree in economics at York University and has also taken courses for executive development.

"I had been thinking of a career change for a while," he said.

He added he's been connected to municipal issues.

He talked to Moyle about the job and received some positive feedback from him.

"He told me what a great place Caledon is," Barnes said. "I thought it was a good idea."

Two weeks into the job, he's found the experience interesting.

"Lots of good work going on," he said. "I've had a bit of an orientation to what's going on here."

He's met all of the council members and many staff. He thinks there's a wide variety of issues in Caledon and council is engaged.

He attended his first council meeting Nov. 20 and found council had a good understanding of the issues and asked good questions.

"They have a lot of knowledge about the Town and their wards," he said. "They have a genuine interest in making the Town a great place to live."

He called it "a very progressive council."

Addressing challenges, he said a big part of what the Town does is manage planning. He added taking direction from the provincial government and managing it on the ground is also challenging. Other challenges he cited include providing service on a costeffective basis and ensuring public works operates properly.

Barnes currently lives in Markham with his wife Katherine. They have two adult daughters named Megan and Morgan.