The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved outgoing manager David Sosa’s request to be let out of his three-year contract “without prejudice.”
That means he won’t be penalized for not providing 60-day notice, as required by his contract.
Sosa will cash out 29 days of leave he has accrued since he started on the job in April 2014, totaling about $11,300.
The assembly also voted to advertise for an interim manager position and have Sosa research more immediate solutions to filling the job. He leaves on Dec. 4.
Sosa submitted his resignation Nov. 5. He is moving to Kings Point, N.Y., to serve as commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
After coming out of executive session and approving the decision to release Sosa from his three-year contract without prejudice, Mayor Jan Hill read a letter thanking Sosa for the “dedicated and exemplary service” he demonstrated throughout his tenure.
“It has really been a joy to work with Mr. Sosa,” Hill said.
Assembly member George Campbell also praised Sosa’s work in Haines. “Mr. Sosa has raised the bar to an extreme high standard. He spent way more hours at the office than we ever expected and he has tackled lots and lots of community issues and community infrastructure problems, and we’ve come out way better for his tenure here.”
Sosa explained that by allowing him to give 30 days’ notice instead of the 60 required by his contract, the borough would actually be saving money and keeping him in the office longer.
That’s because, as per his contract and borough policy, Sosa accrues leave while on leave and receives holiday pay even when holidays come during a period of leave.
“I could have given 60 days’ notice for my contract, in which case I also would have taken 30 days of leave, which would have had me leaving the borough before Thanksgiving. And it would have meant that I would be paid for holidays for which I would not be here. So with 30 days’ notice, I am actually here longer and not being paid for Christmas holidays and New Year’s,” Sosa said.
Assembly member Margaret Friedenauer said in an interview after the meeting the rationale made sense. “The bottom line is we are saving money by allowing the 30-day notice as opposed to a 60-day notice,” she said.
According to Sosa’s contract, “The manager shall provide the Borough Assembly with written notice of his resignation no less than 60 days prior to the effective date of his resignation or expiration of this employment agreement. If the manager quits or resigns without providing such notice, then the manager shall forfeit all benefits which the manager otherwise may be entitled to receive under this agreement.”
Friedenauer said she sought clarification on this point, and determined leave didn’t constitute one of the referenced “benefits.”
“Severance is a benefit. He’s not getting any benefits or bonus from giving 30 days instead of 60, and in fact we are saving money,” she said.
There was no public discussion Tuesday about the $10,000 approved for Sosa as a moving allowance when he accepted the job in February 2014.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the assembly discussed how to proceed with filling the soon-to-be-vacant position. Sosa said there is merit in finding someone familiar with the borough’s functions and processes who could fill the position immediately.
“They could be brought in on a short-term basis not to exceed two or three months while a search is done for a more permanent interim,” Sosa said. “The people who would fit that category are probably former elected officials from the borough. There are pros and cons to that.”
In the past, clerk Julie Cozzi has served as interim manager; she bridged the gap between former manager Mark Earnest’s resignation and Sosa’s arrival. Assembly member Diana Lapham said that might not be the case this time.
“This isn’t the first time we have had to get an interim manager, nor will it probably be the last time. Where we have always been profoundly blessed is we’ve had a clerk that has managed to fill in as an interim manager. We may not have it this time,” Lapham said.
Sosa said using the clerk as an interim is still an option, but that a “different dynamic” existed the last time Cozzi filled in. For example, he said, current deputy clerk Krista Kielsmeier serves in that position as well as a public facilities assistant.
“At least for the last hire, we had a deputy clerk who had been here for some time as the deputy clerk. So that is not the situation now, so we would basically be in a situation where the clerk is filling two jobs,” Sosa said.
Kielsmeier said in a Wednesday interview no one has asked her if she is willing or able to fulfill the interim clerk role. “I believe I have been the deputy clerk longer than (former deputy clerk) Michelle Webb was the deputy clerk before stepping into the interim clerk role, and I would be fully willing and capable of taking on more responsibility. There was no discussion of my willingness to take on a bigger role,” she said.
Mayor Hill said she will investigate a list of potential interim managers at the upcoming Alaska Municipal League conference in Anchorage.
Some names that cropped up at the meeting for the immediate position were Vince Hansen and Bob Ward.
In addition to advertising the interim job, the assembly voted 4-2 to investigate adding the permanent manager position to the headhunting service the borough is considering using to find its next police chief. Assembly members Tresham Gregg and Mike Case opposed that motion.