The Haines Borough has once again postponed a communitywide discussion of the role of the manager.
Haines has been without a permanent borough manager since Debra Schnabel’s dismissal in May. In July, the assembly made a plan to solicit community input on the manager’s role before moving forward with hiring a permanent replacement. A town hall meeting on the subject was scheduled for Aug. 6 but was subsequently postponed. The town hall had most recently been scheduled for Oct. 22.
“Basically, there was nobody to do it,” borough clerk and interim manager Alekka Fullerton said in an October interview. A number of current elected officials were out of town that week, as were a number of newly elected, but not yet seated, officials.
While the borough is between assemblies is a less-than-ideal time to hold meetings, Fullerton said. The manager town hall meeting was one of a number of meetings cancelled or postponed during the second half of October.
“I don’t think (meetings) should be scheduled in October when we’re between assemblies, unless it’s something time sensitive or a committee finishing up something that they’ve been working on,” she said.
In a recommendation included in the Oct. 27 assembly packet, Fullerton said she thinks the assembly should form an ad hoc committee to assess the pros and cons of different forms of municipal government. It would be beneficial to have a town hall meeting after the committee finishes its work so its findings could be used as a basis for discussion, she said, adding that up until now, no one has taken charge of doing the research necessary to lead a productive meeting.
At the Oct. 27 meeting, assembly member Carol Tuynman made a motion to form a committee based on Fullerton’s recommendation, but no one seconded the motion.
Fullerton said she doesn’t know what the plan is for hiring a new manager.
Before the municipal election, the assembly’s Personnel Committee reviewed the manager’s job description in preparation for advertising the position, but that effort has stalled, at least momentarily, in the wake of the Oct. 6 election. The makeup of standing committees, including the Personnel Committee, won’t be finalized until a meeting on Nov. 10.
Fullerton confirmed that she will continue serving as both interim manager and borough clerk as long as she’s needed.
At present, Haines has a council-manager form of government where the assembly makes policy decisions for the borough and hires a manager to oversee day-to-day operations. According to the National League of Cities, in most council-manager governments, the Mayor has limited legislative powers and is often a position filled by assembly members on a rotating basis.
Haines differs slightly from the norm—the borough Mayor has limited legislative powers but is not a member of the assembly.
Another common form of municipal government is a mayor-council government where the Mayor is elected separately from the assembly and is often full-time with significant administrative authority. The National League of Cities notes a recent trend in municipal government involves mixing and matching elements from various forms of government with many municipalities, like Haines, having a structure that incorporates aspects of both council-manager and mayor-council governments.
Under Haines Borough charter, voters must approve any changes to the form of government.