A week or two before St. Tammany Parish Chief Administrative Officer Bill Oiler offered his abrupt resignation effective Monday, another high-ranking administrator also left her post.

Denise Jobe, St. Tammany director of permits, “left a couple of weeks ago,” parish spokeswoman Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest confirmed Tuesday.

Citing the parish’s policy not to discuss personnel matters, Parsons-Stymiest refused to say if Jobe was fired or resigned. “We think very highly of Denise,” Parson-Stymiest said. “She wished to return to the private sector.”

Along with the 61-year-old Oiler, who served under Parish President Kevin Davis as CAO since 2001, Jobe’s departure surprised many in parish government.

Neither Oiler nor Jobe could be reached for comment.

Parish President Kevin Davis announced the resignation of Oiler to his staff in a last minute meeting Thursday. On Friday, after the St. Tammany News contacted his press office for information, Davis issued a press release citing personal reasons for Oiler’s departure.

Jobe was not mentioned in the release.

“I have accepted Bill Oiler’s resignation with mixed feelings,” Davis said in the statement. “I don’t wish to lose Bill, but respect his decision. Bill has been an outstanding chief administrative officer, spearheading many diverse projects from our capital infrastructure plan to emergency planning.”

Assistant CAO Kim Salter will fulfill Oiler’s responsibilities until the position is filled, Davis said in the letter.

For now, Oiler will be missed, said District 9 Parish Councilman Gene Bellisario.

“Bill Oiler was a diligent and hard working individual,” he said. “I had a great working relationship with him since my election last October, and I’m going to miss him.”

Except for the parish’s legal department, Oiler worked directly under Davis, supervising all parish departments, including Jobe’s office, the planning department, public works and more. Most recently Oiler, who once claimed to be the only parish administrator with public transportation experience, helped develop and secure $6 million in grant money to start a new urban bussing service for parish residents.

Despite Oiler’s departure, Parson-Stymiest said the Sept. 1 launch date of that service remains firm.

Jobe, meanwhile, earned her stripes from the bottom up, first working as a hired parish employee in 1998 before her promotion to director of permits in 2001. Her dedication quickly earned her a tenacious reputation, so much so that in 2005 then Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed Jobe to the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council, a 19-member board that administered new mandatory building codes statewide.