During the council’s last regular meeting on June 25, all six council members voted in support of a potential change to the city manager’s residency requirements. The city manager has been required to live within city limits since 1965, when the Kodiak city charter was first adopted. But the council argues that should be extended to include anywhere within five road miles of the city.
Councilmember Nick Mangini said changing the residency requirements will allow the city to focus on hiring a local city manager.
“I think this really just shows our desire to hire locally and hopefully fill this position from a more local position, somebody that understands and knows Kodiak, and hopefully the general public sees it that way too,” he said.
Extending the residency requirements to five road miles, which does not include Bells Flats, would benefit at least one city manager candidate.
Interim city manager, and Kodiak Police Chief, Tim Putney is one of more than 20 applicants being considered for the permanent city manager job. Putney told KMXT he does not live within city limits, but if the residency requirement is extended to five road miles from city limits, then he would be eligible.
The decision is ultimately in the hands of the more than 4,000 registered city voters in Kodiak.
Last time the decision went up for vote in October of 2024. That year, the council paid a lobbyist $25,000 to create a public information campaign arguing that the residency requirement change to within 12 road miles of city limits was needed. But nearly 60% of the roughly 650 participating city voters shot the proposition down.
Resident Dan Rohrer told the council on May 28 that he’d rather see the city manager be required to live somewhere that’s connected to city utilities instead of a road mile limitation.
“I am personally nervous about the idea of having a city manager that doesn’t have to live with the amenities that our city provides, and so I want to see them live on the public water and sewer," Rohrer said. "I think that engages them at a different level for us as a community.”
The council considered an alternative that would have allowed the city manager to live within Service Area No. 1 of the Kodiak Island Borough instead of an extension based on road miles. But they did not draft a resolution based on where city water and sewer services are provided.
Councilmember Annika Woods said she was even skeptical of the proposed residency requirement change.
“Thankfully, it's not just up to me, it's up to the community, and I hope the community sees that this council has gone back to the drawing board, and we put our heads together, we worked with the city attorney to try to figure out a different solution. And this process has not been for a lack of trying," she said.
The city manager residency proposition will be included on the ballot for city voters during the October 6 municipal election.
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.
