The Soldotna City Council approved an action memorandum which directs the HR Manager to begin advertising the vacancy, confirming a special hiring committee, and generally outlining the hiring process for the Soldotna City Clerk vacancy. The term of the contract for Interim City Clerk services with Brekke Hewitt ends on December 31, 2022 and it is time to begin the recruitment process for her successor, according to Mayor Paul Whitney.
He said:
“Vice Mayor Parker and myself met and we have to get started on the hiring process for the city clerk. We came to the conclusions, along with the city manager, that this would be a fair and equitable process and change the makeup of the committee and let two different council members sit on it this time. If we have to go into a third process, I guess we’ll get the other two council members on it the next time, but right now, we need to move forward on this. It’s very important we get this done and hopefully we can have it done by fall. So, I would recommend approving this.”
The City Clerk Job Description was approved by a previous resolution with the proposed salary range to be advertised as $84,302.40 and $114,504, depending on experience. In addition, a special committee will be formed for the purpose of assisting with the City Clerk hiring process. The committee will include Vice Mayor Lisa Parker, Council Members Jordan Chilson and Dan Nelson.
In coordination with the HR Manager, the committee will oversee the initial hiring process details, which includes performing a first review of eligible applicants; finalizing interview and reference questions; determining whether to continue advertising and soliciting applications; and selecting one or more finalists to be forwarded to the full council for interviews.
The city will begin advertising the vacancy immediately as ‘open until filled,’ with a first review date of August 19, 2022. The recruitment will be shared through several entities including Alaska Job Services, the city’s website, social media, and the Alaska Municipal League, in addition to several others.
