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Ketchikan council votes to restart full recruitment for city manager and KPU general manager
Summary
The Ketchikan City Council voted 6–1 to restart the recruitment for the city manager and KPU general manager using the city's contractor SGR; council members cited the need to widen the candidate pool while staff said the SGR contract remains active and would not add contract costs.
The Ketchikan City Council voted to restart the recruitment for the city manager and the KPU general manager, approving a motion to re-open the search with the city's placement contractor, SGR.
The motion, moved and seconded during a special meeting about the appointments, passed on a 6–1 roll-call vote. Council members who recorded yes votes included Gage, Gas, Matani, Goose, Zingy and Bradbury; one council member asked to pass during the roll call. The vote instructs staff to proceed with a fresh recruitment process under SGR’s contract.
The move followed a lengthy discussion of three options: re-engage previously vetted semifinalists from the earlier pool, reopen recruitment with the existing SGR contract, or put out a new request for proposals and hire a different contractor. Several council members argued recontacting semifinalists could be faster, while others favored a full restart to attract a larger, more competitive applicant pool.
In public comment before the vote, Richard Harney, a local resident, told the council he remains interested in city leadership and said he had provided a list of 18 community references to support his candidacy. "I'm still willing and still available to have my name be considered," Harney said during his remarks.
City staff clarified financial implications: Stacy (staff) told council the SGR contract is still active and that continuing with SGR would not create additional contract costs; however, bringing finalists to Ketchikan for interviews could incur travel expenses. Acting assistant city manager Sean Hart (referenced in staff materials) also explained that a fresh, larger search would take more time than re‑contacting prior semifinalists.
Next steps: staff will work with SGR to restart the search under council direction. Council members said they may hold executive sessions as needed to vet finalists, subject to open‑meetings rules and prior notice requirements for individuals discussed in such sessions.
The council’s decision came during a special meeting in which members also set a parallel process to identify an acting city manager while the full recruitment proceeds.
