Lac La Biche County is struggling to attract applicants to fill numerous important vacancies, a situation that CAO Duane Coleman said could be attributed to a bad reputation.
Despite being advertised locally and through various websites, there has yet to be a single applicant for the assistant CAO job — a position created from recommendations made in the county’s organizational review this summer.
And there are currently five manager positions vacant: planning and development, transportation, environmental, solid waste, and recreation. These positions all carry salaries of up to $90,000 a year, but there have been no suitable applications as of yet, Coleman said.
“We are not getting good responses,” he said during the Oct. 11 council meeting. “We’re struggling to get viable applications. We really struggle here to get people to apply for management positions.”
Coleman was asked if administration had considered alternative recruitment avenues, like advertising in the United States. Coleman replied that they have hired American managers before, but historically they don’t successfully adapt to the local style of government. Lac La Biche County, pointed out councillor MJ Siebold, requires a bigger body of knowledge because managers have to deal with both urban and rural considerations.
Councillor John Nowak asked if the issue was wage or location.
“Lac La Biche has a bad reputation,” Coleman answered. “The salary we’re offering is competitive. But reputation — and amenities — are a huge factor.”
Councillor Alvin Kumpula wondered if it might be time to start headhunting managers from other municipalities.
“Do we have to start stealing people?” Kumpula asked.
Coleman said that it is possible to recruit employees from other regions, but even then it might not be easy to fill the various positions.
“That’s just the nature of the beast,” he said. “It’s what Lac La Biche is — sorry.”