Coleman, who has held the job for the last 10 years, was the topic of two recent meetings with councillors and their legal team following his most recent evaluation last week. Despite a recent organizational review that found no causes to terminate the CAO, his departure was immediate. There's no word on a replacement for Coleman. The municipality currently has executive level job openings for an assistant CAO, a manager of environmental services, a manager of recreation facilities, and a manager of solid waste services.
At the last county council meeting, Coleman commented that it is very difficult to attract candidates for the jobs because of the highly political atmosphere in the community. The Lac La Biche community has an active and volatile political history, including the 2006 firing of the former town council and it's administrator by the minister of Municipal Affairs, lawsuits involving council members, anger fueled discussions and debates, including a fist fight within council chambers, as well as petitions and plebiscites.
Coleman could not be reached by POST press deadline, but more information will be available online and on our facebook page.
