After months of deliberation, the Dillingham City Council has narrowed the pool of candidates for a permanent city manager to two: Interim City Manager Dan Decker, a longtime Dillingham resident, and Sidney Miller, a former human resources manager for the City of Wasilla.
The position has been open since March, when past City Manager, Kim Johnson, stepped down and Decker stepped in for the interim. In August, the city hired Prothman, a third-party contractor, to guide the hiring process.
At a special council meeting last week, Prothman consultant Steve Worthington said the city got 18 applicants for the job.
“I did a preliminary review just based on their resumes and the council selected 4 people from the list that I had identified,” said Worthington. “We contacted those 4 people. Two of them withdrew at that particular phase and that left us with the two applicants that we have today.”
The bios of the two candidates go something like this:
Dan Decker has lived and worked in Dillingham for nearly 25 years. Before stepping in as interim manager, Decker had served as city clerk, starting in August 2023. Decker’s experience includes stints as a police officer, tribal administrator, and grant administrator.
Sidney Miller recently completed a six-month contract as Wasilla’s human resources manager. He previously worked for 17 years for a water and sewer authority in Georgia, also in HR.
At last week’s special meeting, five community members, all city employees, advocated for Decker to stay on as permanent City Manager.
Chris Maines is Dillingham’s City Planner.
“We have a city manager right now who not only listens to the council but listens to staff. Which is amazing because it bridges everything together,” said Maines. “And even in that interim capacity, he's still planning for the future. It’s given me hope.”
The city has faced challenges in maintaining long-term leadership. In the past eight years, 12 different managers have held the position.
Residents at the meeting said that in the last several years, staff retention hasn’t fared much better. Maines and other city employees expressed that after so much instability, Decker has provided a change of pace.
“I can tell you right now, my impression of Dan when he first started working for the city was he was instrumental in getting that large $14 million water project off the ground,” said Maines. “And then he has transitioned into an interim city manager position where he has brought staff together, staff retention is at an all-time high.”
The council is now waiting for Prothman – the consultant – to conduct background and reference checks. According to budget documents, the city has, so far, paid Prothman $15,633 to find and screen candidates for the position.
The city council's next meeting to discuss candidates is scheduled for February 6th.