The Dillingham City Council has postponed the vote to appoint Acting City Manager Kimberly Johnson into the role officially and to offer her a contract for that role. They made the decision after five hours during January’s city council meeting.
The council had voted to offer Johnson a three-year contract in October, but approving that contract was never voted on.
Johnson, who stepped down from her role as a council member and was appointed the acting city manager in June, could not have taken on the role of city manager in October because of stipulations in Dillingham’s city code at that time.
In December, the council voted to change this code, allowing a former council member to be appointed as city manager within a year of their term if they received a three-fourths majority vote from the council.
But at the January meeting, multiple council members noted that part of the resolution to offer Johnson the role, as it was written, required a simple majority vote to pass, and part of the resolution required a three-fourths majority to pass. Council member Curt Armstrong stated he would vote ‘no’ on offering Johnson the contract at this time.
The vote to postpone the decision passed four to two, with council members Michael Bennett and Steven Carriere voting ‘no.’
Tim Pearson of Pearson Consulting, the firm hired to assist in Dillingham’s city manager search, presented to the council at January’s meeting. He said he had undergone the first stage of the search, which he called the ‘sourcing’ stage. Pearson said that in past searches, the city held public receptions for finalist candidates, as well as interviews with department heads, and he said he thought it was important to have two or three finalists so that the council could compare them.
He had sourced eleven applicants for the role, including Johnson. The City of Dillingham contracted Pearson Consulting for $25,000 last June.
Members of the public have asked for caution when selecting the city manager. Maria Dosal said that she had concerns about Johnson’s leadership style. Dosal stated that Johnson suddenly terminated her fiance and another employee from the Public Works department and did not give a sufficient explanation for the reason. Dosal asked the council to continue the search and make a calculated judgment. The terminations occurred in November. Alaska is an ‘at-will’ state, meaning that employers do not need to give warning or explanation for terminations.
Former city employee Cade Woods stated that while he was not against the resolution to appoint Johnson, he thought the council should consider the other candidates before voting. Woods was terminated by Johnson from his position in the Public Works Department.
Dillingham’s next city council meeting is on February 1.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
