In a discussion that included reference to U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia and a member being gaveled over teleconference, the Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved salary ranges for its manager and police chief jobs.
On a 4-2 vote, the assembly authorized its hired headhunting firm Brimeyer Fursman to advertise salary ranges of $95,000 to $120,000 for manager and $75,000 to $95,000 for police chief. Assembly members George Campbell and Tresham Gregg were opposed.
The group also voted to establish a hiring timeline, with applications due March 25, finalist selection by April 19 and new hires starting in June.
Clerk Julie Cozzi said the ranges were partially based on the Alaska Municipal League’s Benefit and Salary Survey, which compiles salaries from municipalities all over the state. “That was one of the ways that (Brimeyer Fursman) came up with those recommendations, besides our history of having paid one of our managers $120,000. So that’s where that top amount also came from,” Cozzi said.
Cozzi clarified after the meeting that she had misspoken, and that former manager Mark Earnest made $120,000 as the Whittier city manager before moving to Haines.
Assembly member Campbell, who participated via teleconference, was perplexed as to why the assembly was being asked to set a salary range without first discussing minimum job qualifications. “We – the assembly – are supposed to make a decision on what we feel the minimum qualifications are and, to my knowledge, we have not even had a conversation,” Campbell said.
Mayor Jan Hill pointed out that the borough has job descriptions for the positions. “Those were approved years ago. We have the same qualifications for the same job,” Hill said.
Campbell persisted. “We are the ones that decide what our minimum qualifications are. We should use our consultants and discuss it with them, but we should not be allowing other people to decide what minimum qualifications our employee is going to be.”
Campbell also found “glaring issues” with draft profiles compiled by hiring consultant Brimeyer Fursman – for example, the profiles said the borough is responsible for electric and Internet utilities. Though assured the profiles were just drafts and would be corrected, Campbell said he wanted to see a final version before they are used in the advertisements.
“The profiles will not come back to the assembly for approval,” clerk Cozzi said after the meeting. “These are intended to be advertisements and are still being fine-tuned. I am passing along to them any comments/concerns expressed. The consultants are professionals who have done this many times before, and a professional product will go out, as soon as possible. It is one of the things we are paying them for. They should be trusted to do what they do, in my opinion.”
Representatives from Brimeyer Fursman were in Haines on Feb. 18 and 19 to meet privately with elected officials, department heads and chairs of local advisory boards. They also met with the Public Safety Commission and brainstormed desired police chief qualities.
As Hill pointed out at Tuesday’s meeting, Campbell didn’t schedule to meet with the headhunting firm, when he could have voiced his concerns, Cozzi said.
“Mr. Campbell chose not to make an appointment; he did not participate. Mr. Jackson was out of town but I understand he at least completed a survey. The other four assembly members took the time to meet individually with the consultants for over an hour each,” Cozzi said.
Campbell claims he wasn’t told when the consultants were coming to town and asked the administration to provide some proof of its attempt to contact him and schedule a meeting.
At one point during the meeting, Mayor Hill was forced to gavel Campbell over the phone because he wouldn’t stop talking. In an effort to move the meeting along, assembly member Mike Case invoked a recently deceased U.S. Supreme Court justice.
“I would like to quote from the late great Antonin Scalia,” Case said. “When he got in a situation like this, he said, ‘That’s the way we’re going to do it. So there.’”