Members of the public called for transparency in city managerial duties at the December 14 city council meeting.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Maria Dosal said that the city manager’s ability to terminate employment for any city staff member had caused concern in the community.
The city saw three terminations and three resignations last month. Going forward, Dosal asked the council to play a role in reviewing city terminations.
“Please consider implementing a system with this managerial position in the contract that is upcoming, in conversation, where the city council reviews termination cases to ensure that the decisions align with our community values and adhere to established policies,” she said.
Former public works department employee Cade Woods said that he has witnessed miscommunication between the city manager, department supervisors and employees in the department. He said that adjusting the city code’s description of the managerial duties and establishing a procedure for the manager to present their daily priorities to the workforce would help maintain order.
“I think it would be in the employees and city manager’s best interest to be able to have a set chain of command to go through to go forward,” he said.
The public asked the council to take caution when considering passing a city code change that would allow former council members to serve as city manager before a two-year prohibitory period. The ordinance was introduced at the November meeting.
The public also commented on the city’s decision to combine the animal control officer and police officer roles. At the start of the meeting while reviewing staff reports, Acting City Manager Kimberly Johnson said the combination allows for efficiency and effectiveness during the daytime.
Former animal control officer Dan Boyd said that the last time the individual in charge of animal control had additional duties, the city suffered a tragedy. In 2010, Dillingham police found the bodies of all six dogs housed in the city’s shelter.The animals had been neglected and starved, and some had resorted to cannibalism, according to news reports at the time.
“There’s more than enough for the animal control officer to do during the eight-hour shift without having to deal with other duties slash police officer work,” Boyd said. “You start neglecting the animals, you're going to go back to where you were 13 years ago.”
At the start of the meeting, the council voted to place the scheduled executive session, which was originally intended to follow the meeting, in its middle. The session was closed to the public and earmarked for city manager performance and contract terms and negotiations.
After the two-hour session, the council resumed the meeting and announced it had renewed Acting City Manager Kim Johnson’s contract for another three months.
The council will hold a special meeting on December 21 at 5:30 p.m.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
