Assembly interviews municipal administrator finalist Jenny Alber; moves to executive session to discuss candidates

The Assembly of the City and Borough of Sitka held a special meeting April 24 to conduct a second-round interview with municipal administrator finalist Jenny Alber and later moved into an executive session to discuss the candidates.

Alber, joining remotely, told the seven-member panel she has more than 25 years of experience in government, nonprofits and legal work and identified herself as an attorney who is not currently licensed in Alaska. She said she reviewed Sitka’s strategic plan and recent meeting materials, and pointed to housing, tourism, food security and municipal utilities as pressing issues. "I did actually do a lot of research over the last two weeks," she said, adding that she found Sitka’s utility structure notable because the utilities are city-run rather than privately owned.

Why it matters: The municipal administrator runs day-to-day operations for the full-service municipality, which in Sitka includes utilities, public works, police and fire. The assembly’s choice will shape how Sitka addresses its housing crunch, utility rates and emergency preparedness on an island with limited external resources.

During a round‑robin of questions, assembly members pressed Alber on constituent relations, budgeting, emergency response and tribal government relations. On dealing with upset residents, Alber said she prioritizes listening, explaining legal or operational limits and offering alternative steps: "Hear them, not just listen to them ... If you can fix it, tell them how you're gonna fix it. Follow-up with them," she said.

On housing, she noted short‑term rentals and tourism pressures and proposed convening nonprofits, tribal agencies and housing advocates to map what has worked and what has not. Regarding budgets, Alber described department‑level budgeting that collects managers' "wish lists," quantifies returns on investment and leans on finance staff for technical numbers when presenting trade‑offs to elected officials.

Alber discussed emergency preparedness drawing on New Orleans' hurricane practices, stressing proactive planning and the need for community shelters or evacuation plans on an island. She said she has been involved in emergency operations and fast‑track permitting after storms but had not personally led a command center: "It's prep. It's planning. It's knowing that it's not if—it's when something's gonna happen."

The interview closed with questions about staff recruitment, professional development and how she would work with the municipal attorney. Alber emphasized mentorship, regular check‑ins with direct reports and building a collegial peer relationship with the city attorney.

After the public part of the interview concluded, Assembly member Kevin Mosher moved that the assembly convene in executive session "to discuss subjects that may tend to prejudice the reputation and character of municipal administrator candidates Steve Dahl and Jenny Alber and invite assistant municipal administrator Josh Brentover." The motion passed on a 7–0 vote. The chair later announced the assembly met in executive session and that members will continue deliberations before making a final decision.

No formal appointment or final action was announced at the meeting. The assembly adjourned after a brief public‑participation notice with no speakers.

Next steps: The assembly said it will take additional time to compare candidates and hold another meeting to continue the selection process.