The Kodiak Island Borough will be getting a new Borough Manager. After interviewing a dozen applicants in a nationwide search the Borough Assembly has hired Valdez’s assistant city manager Roxanne Murphy. Kodiak Borough Mayor Bill Roberts said she was an excellent candidate for the position.
“It was a unanimous decision, which is always really good. And we’re really looking forward to her getting here. We’re hoping that she is able to help guide us through some really tough times here coming up with the budgets we have to do, and other things like buildings that are deteriorating, and we feel that she’s the person. So we’re looking forward to her getting here and getting going,” Roberts said.
The Borough Assembly posted Murphy’s resume and cover letter on its website. In addition to her work as an assistant city manager in Valdez, she formerly held a chief of staff role for the Nooksack Indian Tribe in Washington state, of which she is an enrolled citizen.
“She has all the qualifications we needed. She has a Master’s in Public Administration. She’s worked a number of years as assistant to the manager in Valdez. And she actually sat in for a period as manager in Valdez. And during that period, she wrote the Valdez budget for the year, so I think she’s quite qualified,” Roberts said.
Her starting salary will be $130,000 plus benefits. She accepted the job on Friday, the mayor said, and is expected to start work in the middle of December.
She replaces Michael Powers, who was fired in September after about five years on the job.