By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Essex County Council received a report from CAO Sandra Zwiers, highlighting organizational achievements, challenges and priorities, since she was appointed to the helm of County staff two-and-a-half years ago.
Previously, she was the Director of Financial Services for the County.
The CAO role, her report details, provides “strategic leadership and organizational oversight to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the County of Essex.”
The report was meant to provide an update as to what she has been doing, and to achieve the policy that requires open communication between County Council and the CAO set in the Performance Appraisal Policy for the top position that was adopted last year.
“It is important to me taxpayers in the region understand what I do and what value I am able to provide to the region and to the County,” Zwiers said, noting she loves the CAO role.
The moments she had enjoyed the most since her appointment to the position is when she gets to get out from behind her desk and interact with staff.
Over the last year, a lot of her time has been spent over at Sun Parlour Home, which the County operates. Zwiers assumed the role of interim Administrator of Sun Parlour Home, while continuing to fulfill her responsibilities as CAO, between permanent position holders.
She said the long-term care staff have been gracious to her when she visits and in helping her to understand this business better and working on “culture shifts and changes” there.
Learning how all departments work at the Home has been rewarding for her.
Over the past year, Zwiers, County Clerk Katherine Hebert, and Warden Hilda MacDonald, who is also Mayor of Leamington, met with each of the seven local municipalities to understand how each run their own meetings. That allowed the County to see how it could perhaps be better at how it runs its own operation.
Zwiers said she is looking forward to many years ahead.
She wanted Council to know County admin enjoys learning new things administratively.
“From where I sit, I want to be a sponge while I am here, taking in information from all of you, from residents, and the public; and make this place better,” Zwiers said. “I want to leave it better than I found it.”
The Report to County Council highlights that the County of Essex hosted all six Regional CAOs Committee meetings last year, providing a consistent venue for collaboration and strategic dialogue among Chief Administrative Officers from the seven local municipalities, the City of Windsor and Chatham-Kent. Other highlights include Zwiers advancing the County’s Strategic Plan commitment to supporting dynamic and thriving communities, and playing a facilitative role in regional affordable housing initiatives throughout 2025.
The County, the report adds, strengthened its approach to advocacy by developing a formal policy and initiating work on the 2026 Strategic Advocacy Priorities Report. She also participated with boards and committees that advanced regional collaboration and strategic priorities for Essex County.
A key achievement she highlighted in the report includes the progress achieved on the County’s Strategic Plan (2024–2027), with approximately 75% of initiatives complete or well underway.
Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy called Zwiers’s report proactive, and noted the quality of reports that come to County Council are high caliber.
One thing Bondy has noticed is that the County is at an arm’s length to residents.
“They are not really feeling what residents are saying, and that puts a lot of strain on local municipalities for things going on at the County,” Bondy said.
Individuals don’t really know where County plows and municipal plows are, she said, for instance.
“It is a public education thing. I think we need to work really hard about patting ourselves on the back and getting more word out there about what we do, what is our responsibility out there in the community.”
The County’s social media following is growing, and the Council Briefs put out a lot of accurate information, but residents really aren’t engaging with the County and don’t really know it exists.
The CAO has done a lot of work with County administration, municipal administrations, and with members of County Council. Bondy would like to see her further expand to meet with residents of the community, so she and County departments are hearing what Councillors are hearing.
