Haines Borough Clerk Alekka Fullerton withdrew her application for the borough manager job on Friday. That comes after the assembly’s first choice for the position declined their offer last month. Local officials are trying to find the time to renew their search for a manager while working on the budget for the coming fiscal year. 

It’s been nearly a year since the Haines Borough Assembly and mayor abruptly fired then-borough manager Debra Schnabel. Borough Clerk Alekka Fullerton has taken on the manager’s duties in the interim.

In recent months, the assembly has been working with consultant Lenise Henderson-Fontenot to find a permanent replacement. 

“At this point we have to roll up our sleeves and get back to work,” Fontenot said.  

She told the assembly on Friday not to be discouraged by the setbacks in their hiring process. 

After narrowing down the field of candidates last month, the assembly offered the borough manager job to George Zoukee, a former public sector finance administrator. He declined. 

“That happens a lot,” Fontenot said. “Your candidate, his references were impeccable. He said he would take the job if he was offered it. You asked all the right questions and in the end, sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”

Borough Clerk Alekka Fullerton also put her name in the running for borough manager and made it to the final round of interviews alongside Zoukee. 

On Friday, she withdrew her application for the job. She told the assembly that she had been conflicted about applying. 

“I thought that by applying to be the borough manager that I would be doing a service to Haines by providing stability in the manager’s role, but I feel like the community is becoming divided over this as an issue and I do not want that,” Fullerton said. 

The Haines Borough has had high turnover for borough managers. Over the years, the assembly’s decisions to hire and fire managers have often led to public outcry. 

Fullerton said she would like to see the public and borough staff more involved in the hiring process. 

“It seemed to me that most of what was being done was being done in executive session, and I think that the community has a right to be more of a participant in this process,” Fullerton said.

Assembly member Gabe Thomas countered that too much public involvement would turn the hiring process into a popularity contest. 

There are no immediate plans to put out another job advertisement for borough manager.  Over the next few months, the borough assembly will be busy reviewing the budget for the next fiscal year. Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud cautioned the assembly against postponing the search until after the budget is passed.  

“It’s not like we’re rushing into this because this has been almost a year now that this position has been vacant,” Olerud said. “We can take our time. It doesn’t mean we have to hire somebody in the middle of the budget, but if we wait until after the budget to start the process, we’re looking at September, October before we have somebody here.”

Olerud said he would meet with Fullerton to discuss hiring an interim employee to help ease her workload while they continue searching for a permanent manager.