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Council appoints Ash Kulak as interim council attorney; debate follows on hiring process and job structure
Summary
Council appoints Deputy Attorney Ash Kulak as interim council attorney/administrator beginning Aug. 5 and approves interim compensation; discussion focused on application pool, possible addition of a committee member with legal training, salary range constraints, and whether to separate attorney and administrator duties.
The Bloomington Common Council voted to appoint Deputy Attorney Ash Kulak as interim council attorney/administrator beginning Aug. 5 and approved an interim salary to compensate for the added responsibilities.
Councilmember Hopi Stossberg moved to appoint Kulak during a report from the hiring committee, explaining the committee’s preference for an internal interim because training an external appointee would be time consuming. The motion included ratification of prior hiring steps and a compensation level described by the committee as roughly 85% of the previous position’s pay; the motion passed on a roll-call vote.
The committee reported that the position had been posted twice, that the first posting produced only three attorney-qualified applicants, and that the second posting remains open with a closing date of Aug. 7. Members discussed whether to add a fourth committee member with legal experience to help evaluate applicants and whether to change the job posting or salary range to attract more candidates. Councilmember Rosenbarger suggested expanding the advertised salary range; others noted that the posted range was constrained by current budget allocations and would require budget adjustments to materially increase pay.
Councilmembers also raised operational questions about workload, backfill and administrative support while Kulak serves as interim. Stossberg said she had consulted with City HR and the city attorney’s office about coverage and that some assistance could be provided by the city attorney’s office and the clerk’s staff. Councilmember Asari urged using the vacancy as an opportunity to reconsider the structure of the office and whether the attorney and administrator duties should be split permanently.
Deputy Attorney Kulak participated in the discussion and confirmed willingness to serve in the interim role. The council did not set a permanent hiring outcome or change the position’s classification on July 31; the hiring committee plans to continue reviewing applicants and may relist the position if it determines the pool is insufficient.
