Randy Robertson’s official start date was Sept. 8 according to his employment agreement. After arriving on island last month he was present for a port and harbors advisory board meeting on Sept. 24.
“I’m Randy Robertson. I’ve not met any of you, other than that gentleman and that gentleman," he said to the board. "So I’ve been here eight days, nine days, but who’s counting. And I work for you.”
But not for much longer. Robertson’s last day as city manager will be Oct. 31, after just 7 weeks on the job leading the city government’s 135 employees and roughly $50 million budget. The employment contract the city council approved in July set the expectation that Robertson would stay on until 2030, barring some extraordinary circumstances.
During Thursday’s city council meeting, on Oct. 23, the council went into executive session for about an hour before unanimously approving the separation agreement. Towards the end of the meeting, Robertson said in his final city manager’s report that he will put together some kind of succession planning documents for his successor.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t, as much as you’d like," Robertson said. "I'll leave it at that and say I think that we have a good way forward with possibilities for the future, in terms of this position.”
The separation agreement says he is resigning in good standing. The city will pay Robertson the equivalent of 90 days’ salary, which is about $45,000, plus $12,500 for his relocation costs. He moved from Maryland to Kodiak. “In exchange,” the agreement says, Robertson gives up various rights to sue the city.
This is at least Robertson’s fourth short-term local government position around the country since 2021. Robertson had contract or interim positions in Durango in Colorado, Luzerne County in Pennsylvania and Dover in Delaware. He said in his application for the Kodiak job that those prior positions were all short stints because he was assisting with his mother’s medical care.
Prior to that, he was the city manager in Aberdeen, Maryland and before that he was the city manager in Cordova for several years, from 2013 to 2016.
Outgoing mayor Pat Branson said during Thursday's meeting that the separation agreement was mutual and that the council wishes Robertson and his wife the best going forward.
It is unclear when the city manager job will be posted and when the city will begin the hiring process to find Robertson's successor.
Last time the city was hiring a new manager, it signed a roughly $35,000 agreement with a Florida-based hiring firm to recruit and vet candidates from around the country. The firm identified Robertson as one of the top candidates out of 41 applicants.
*For transparency, Terry Haines, the incoming Mayor of the City of Kodiak, is also a staff member at KMXT. He does not have any editorial influence over news stories and he did not review this story before it was published.
