The sudden departure of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s longtime treasurer is drawing criticism from one council candidate who says this points to a deeper problem with staff turnover, succession planning and public trust at town hall.
“This whole transition seems shrouded in mystery and not terribly well executed, and it creates questions,” said Steve McGuinness, a NOTL resident who’s running to become a councillor in this fall’s election.
In July, the town parted ways with Kyle Freeborn after more than 14 years with the municipality. A source told The Lake Report he was let go without cause. Freeborn declined to comment.
Council appointed manager of finance Nick Alaimo as treasurer on July 21. During the meeting, Coun. Gary Burroughs asked whether the appointment was temporary and chief administrative officer Nick Ruller said Alaimo would take the job permanently.
However, in an emailed response to The Lake Report on Thursday, the town said Alaimo is serving as interim treasurer and will continue carrying out his existing responsibilities as manager of finance.
The town declined to explain the circumstances surrounding Freeborn’s departure, saying it does not comment on confidential personnel matters.
The town said that after the staffing change, it discovered no appointment bylaw was in place for the deputy treasurer position.
“It was therefore necessary to address the statutory appointment requirements,” said spokesperson Christie New.
But with no appointed treasurer in place, proceeding solely with appointing a deputy treasurer would not have been appropriate, New said.
“As a result, Mr. Alaimo has been appointed interim treasurer.”
McGuinness said the change appeared abrupt and the town should have announced it before the July 21 meeting rather than leaving residents to learn about it through what he called a confusing agenda item.
“It shouldn’t be an agenda item that they rush through that’s miscaptioned,” he said.
He said the change appeared sudden publicly but may have been underway behind the scenes for some time.
“I think (Alaimo) was acting in that capacity for longer than we know about,” said McGuinness.
The town did not answer when the decision to part ways with Freeborn was made or whether Alaimo had begun performing treasurer duties before his July 21 appointment.
McGuinness said the town could have issued a brief statement thanking Freeborn for his service and expressing confidence in Alaimo without disclosing confidential employment information.
“I think we’re at least owed some explanation when a very senior officer is suddenly replaced like that.”
The town did not answer why the public was not informed of Freeborn’s departure before the council meeting.
McGuinness said the departure is especially concerning because the town has replaced its chief administrative officer, planning director and treasurer during the current council term, which began in 2022.
“That’s going to create continuity problems, no matter which way you slice and dice it,” he said.
According to Ontario’s “sunshine list,” Freeborn earned a little more than $157,000 in 2025. He is expected to receive severance because of his long tenure (he became treasurer in 2017) and the circumstances of his departure. The town would not comment on the details.
“That’s a significant expense that’s unbudgeted,” McGuinness said.
The town reported saving about $632,000 in 2025 because of staff vacancies and gapping. McGuinness said the figure illustrates the extent of the town’s turnover, questioned why expenses for unfilled positions remained in the budget and said the savings could be offset by severance costs arising from senior departures.
McGuinness questioned whether the turnover is part of a wider workplace problem.
“It’s starting to look less and less isolated and more and more systemic,” he said. “We need to recruit and retain good staff.”
McGuinness said council should direct staff to prepare a public report reviewing the town’s policies on recruitment, retention, turnover and succession planning.
“In the absence of policy, the (chief administrative officer) is in a difficult position,” McGuinness said. “It’s not the (chief administrative officer’s) problem if he’s not getting sufficient direction.”
He said the report should examine why employees are leaving and set out how the town plans to retain strong staff and prepare employees to move into senior positions.
“We can’t solve the problem until we understand the problem,” he said.
The town did not provide its turnover rates, say whether it has a succession plan or indicate whether it would consider a public review of its recruitment, retention and succession policies.
It noted, however, that McGuinness is a candidate in this fall’s municipal election and said municipal staff time and resources should not be used to pursue election-related matters or advance a political campaign or narrative.
McGuinness stressed that he does not know why Freeborn was dismissed and does not want to speculate. But he said the lack of clear communication has allowed uncertainty to grow.
“It created a vacuum where rumours circulate and that’s not helpful,” he said. “That creates confusion, anxiety, uncertainty.”
