Several key positions within the City of Kodiak are currently vacant, including the city manager job. After months without a permanent manager, the Kodiak City Council is negotiating with a firm to help find more qualified candidates for the top city position.
Last May, Kodiak city officials considered 16 applicants from around the country to be city manager. Ultimately, it didn’t work out, and the job opening was posted again in November, 2024 following the city election results and Josie Bahnke stepping down as the acting city manager. Bahnke does not live in the city of Kodiak and city code requires that the manager maintain full-time residency within city limits. She became acting city manager again in October on a temporary basis.
Three months in, and the city isn’t interviewing any candidates yet but a handful of applicants have applied for the position, according to Mayor Pat Branson. Now the city is in negotiations to hire a recruitment firm to find more applicants and handle the process to hire a manager that currently resides in or will live within the city.
The firm will identify, screen and select qualified candidates for the city manager role according to city documents.
On Thursday, Feb. 13 the council voted unanimously to enter into agreement with Colin Baenziger & Associates [CB&A] out of Florida, to conduct a candidate search for the city manager job. The contract will not exceed $34,500 which CB&A originally quoted the city as its recruitment fee; that does not include lodging expenses.
In December, a city evaluation team made up of Harbormaster Dave Johnson, City Clerk Michelle Shuravloff-Nelson, and Kodiak Police Chief Tim Putney recommended the council choose either CB&A or MGT Impact Solutions, LLC out of the four total firms that applied to do the city manager candidate search.
Acting City Manager Josie Bahnke said via email that the timeline for recruiting and hiring a new manager will be worked out in the coming weeks as the city is still negotiating a contract with CB&A following Thursday’s council meeting.
CB&A is also contracting with the City of Nome to help that community hire its next city manager.
Meanwhile, the department heads within the city continue to share the load of the full time city manager position with Bahnke on a rotating basis.
Bahnke is still employed as the deputy city manager and was just re-appointed again as acting city manager Thursday night. This agreement is in effect for the next 90 days at the pay rate that was effective as of July 1, 2024 according to city documents.
