Cites policy-making, staff support as legacy
In an interview this week, outgoing Haines Borough manager David Sosa said his biggest accomplishments were working with staff to update policies and procedures, paying more attention to employee reviews and evaluations, and working with the assembly to identify local and legislative priorities.
Sosa offered an analysis of his 19 months in the job, including his achievements, second thoughts and advice to a successor.
He prided himself on making borough staff feel more comfortable and appreciated by “making sure that as a manager I am taking a look at their personal and professional requirements and paying attention to that and helping them reach their potential, whether it was training or just being engaged in what they are doing.”
“These are people who are working very hard to do something important for the community and it’s important that they feel recognized and appreciated,” he added.
Sosa submitted his resignation to the assembly and Mayor Jan Hill on Nov. 5. He is moving to Kings Point, N.Y., to serve as commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
“It is my hope, and belief, that my efforts as manager have made the borough administration a more cohesive, effective and transparent organization,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
Regarding the controversial minor offenses ordinance, which dominated the last several months of his tenure, Sosa said he believed he took the appropriate position on recommending the ordinance’s passage.
“From the perspective of the staff and talking to the attorney, this seemed to be a very straightforward administrative matter. So we were surprised when there was so much interest in it,” he said. “You don’t always read properly on how something is going to resonate in the community.”
Sosa also defended the hard line he took on the Haines Animal Rescue Kennel contract, another decision that landed him in hot water with some.
“At the time, the reality was we were facing some significant cuts to the police department budget,” he said. “When you’re faced with a situation like that, you have to make tough choices and tough choices are never easy… It’s never easy for an organization to find that they are one of the tough choices.”
When asked how holding millions of dollars in borough reserves influenced his fiscal decision-making, Sosa said he and assembly members need to look at the long-term future of the borough.
“It’s really easy to say, ‘Let’s give groups money.’ But as a manager and as elected officials, what we need to say is, ‘Let’s look at the environment. What’s the situation we are in this year? What is the likely situation over the next several years and how do we best safeguard the community as a whole and the borough as a whole and take them through what is going to be several challenging years?’”
Sosa also defended “bimbling,” a practice he described at a May town hall meeting as walking around town several days a week talking to people or standing on the Port Chilkoot Dock greeting tourists during regular work hours.
The practice drew criticism from some residents, who questioned whether it was an efficient use of time.
“You can’t lead from a chair,” Sosa said. “You can administrate and sign checks and look at paperwork, but in order to be able to lead a team of people who are responsible for a complex organization, you have to be out there.”
He said he hopes the assembly’s next hire for manager has a similar perspective. “An expectation I would hope that the community and the elected officials have of anyone that they hire is that that person is going to be visible and that person is going to see what is going on so that informed decisions can be made.”
When asked how he thinks he will be remembered in Haines, Sosa said he hopes people will remember him as a professional who did his job. “I would like to think that people would feel that I have been professional and that I have approached my duties in an appropriate manner and, whether they agreed or disagreed with a decision, that they feel I’ve given it appropriate thought.”
“I know from some peoples’ comments that they have really appreciated my presence here. I know from other peoples’ comments that they didn’t appreciate my presence here. But that’s the nature of a job like this,” he added.
Sosa said it wasn’t an accident if people found him hard to read. “It is somewhat important that a manager does keep his or her cards close to the chest because people shouldn’t have an expectation that they are going to be treated differently because of how they’ve engaged with the manager in the past, whether on a friendly basis or a not-so-friendly basis,” he said.
The community needs to believe its manager will address people and issues fairly and appropriately with respect to the law, he added. “The manager does have to be careful about expressing like or dislike of anything.”
In terms of advice to his successor, he advised the next manager to be involved, be engaged, listen to the community, listen to the employees and “be involved in policy, but be outside of politics.”