During a work session on April 28, the council started reviewing the more than 15 applications received for the city manager job so far. Some council members, like Bob Stanford, argued that at least one of the applicants could fit the bill.
“I read every one of them. Took a while, but I got four names there, Stanford said. "I checked, these people could potentially be it.”
But not all of the six council members saw it that way. Mayor Terry Haines suggested the council hold off until Deputy City Manager Josie Bahnke returns from her time off later this month. Meanwhile, Kodiak Police Chief Tim Putney is the acting city manager until Bahnke returns, according to Haines.
“And the reason I put this out there, that we should put a pause on the city manager search, is we just have too much on our plate right now," Haines said. "We have the boat harbor, we have the budget, and we have to fix those things. And this city manager search is just taking too much time, it's taking too much of our effort, it's taking too much staff time.”
For transparency, Haines is also a KMXT employee. As KMXT’s morning host, Haines makes editorial decisions about what airs in local newscasts, but he did not edit or review this story before it was published.
While the council is regrouping on the city manager recruitment process, Kodiak’s Interim Manager, Chris Hladick told the council it should update its offering package. Hladick, who is five months into his nine-month contract, said Kodiak is not matching up with other communities in rural Alaska that are also hunting for city managers.
“I think you really need to look at what you're offering, because the other, you know, Ketchikan just hired their city manager," he said. "I think they have a listed starting salary of $223,000. Then you’ve got Naknek, it's $220,000 with a house, with a greenhouse, with a car.”
The Bristol Bay Manager job in Naknek that Hladick is referring to also comes with housing, a shop/garage and a sauna. Unalaska is hiring a city manager as well with a salary of at least $210,000 annually and offers city housing for rent.
Currently the Kodiak city manager job lists an annual salary of $175,000 with no housing option. By city code, the manager is also required to live within city limits, where housing options can be scarce.
Resident Aileen Fitzgerald pointed out during the work session that these hiring challenges aren’t new ones.
“Three times now I have been told that the issues facing Kodiak make it uniquely difficult to fill the city manager position: the housing, the remoteness, the salary. So just want to say, in those previous two cycles, those competing cities, I think have found city managers.”
Over the last two years, since April of 2024, the city has had to start the hiring process for a new manager at least three separate times. The most recent hiring attempt came at the end of October after Randy Robertson left the position after only being in the job for seven weeks.
By the end of the April 28 meeting, the council agreed to continue reviewing all the applications and consider updating the city manager job description and benefits package at the council’s meeting on May 12.
Editor’s note: And, for transparency, KMXT employee Terry Haines is also the Kodiak City mayor, who presides over the city council. As KMXT’s morning host, Haines makes editorial decisions about what airs in local newscasts but he did not edit or review this story before it was published.Under KMXT’s policy on editorial independence, we are working to standardize a process that removes Haines' editorial discretion over local municipal story placement in KMXT newscasts.
