By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times

The New Year will begin with a new city manager and new director of administration for the city of Whittier.

Last month, both the city manager, Mark Earnest, and city administrator, Matt Abbey, resigned and accepted jobs elsewhere.

Earnest is now on the job as the borough manager in Haines in Southeast Alaska, and Abbey took a job in Colorado to manage a rail line, vacating the administrator position after only six months on the job.

Ed Barrett, Whittier's harbormaster, is filling in as the interim city manager until the position is filled. The city is currently interviewing for both jobs.

Earnest was hired in January 2005 as the harbormaster and then was promoted to city manager in December 2005.

Earnest, 54, spoke with the Turnagain Times from his office in Haines, having been at his new job for only seven days, beginning Jan. 7.

He said when he took over as Whittier's city manager, the city was running a deficit of around $1 million. But he said when he left, the budget was close to being out of the red entering 2010.

“I think we got the deficit to within less than $20,000 at the end of last year (2008),” Earnest said. “I don't know how close we are, but I think we should be out of the woods for the year-end 2009.”

As for his resignation, Earnest said that when the opportunity arose in Haines, the job opportunity looked attractive, and the timing was right for a change.

“I was just pursuing other opportunities,” he said. “I spent time in Haines 30 years ago, and it was a place I wanted to return to some day.”

Whittier has had a reputation of being a tough place to live and work, especially in political positions and jobs like city manager. There have been four city managers in the last ten years, a job that can be challenging in any city, but especially in a place like Whittier that is isolated and has small population of just under 200 year-round residents, most of whom live in one building—the Begich Towers.

“Public administration is at best challenging,” said Barrett, “because Alaskans are generally strong-minded individuals, and public administration in Whittier is unique.”

Earnest agreed that the position of city manager in Whittier was very challenging, but he said he was happy with his job and time spent there.

“City managing is a job that is very challenging,” he said, “and I like the challenge, and my goal was to get the projects up to a level of support that the projects could survive on their own with an effort from the city, but basically sustainable, and I felt comfortable in achieving that. But there's still a lot of work that has to be done.”

Earnest said some of the top projects he spearheaded were Shotgun Cove Road development, the development of the Head of Passage Canal small boat harbor, and the Shotgun Cove land sale, which now has a draft master plan.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to live and work in Whittier,” Earnest said. “I'll remember it fondly, and I hope I can get back and visit this summer. It's got a lot going for it and a great deal of potential, and it was a great honor to be a part of that. I have many friends there, and it was difficult to leave, but it was the right time.”

Meanwhile, Whittier is looking to the future, and seeking to fill the director of administration position first and then the city manager's job.

“I look to try and get the director of administration position filled in about a month,” said Barrett, “and then finding an effective city manager. I expect it will take time, but not that long.”

Barrett has 20 years experience working as harbormaster and was hired as the harbormaster in Whittier in 2007. He said he's comfortable filling in temporarily.

“I worked closely with Mark on grant funding, so I know where most of the bones are buried,” he said. “I'm not in over my head, so I think I can keep the city moving and functioning until we find a new leader.”

The sudden resignation by Earnest and Abbey seems to have caught most in the city by surprise, and Barrett said he was also surprised by their departure.

“I didn't really know that they were entertaining opportunities outside the city,” he said. “I don't' think that because they found positions at the same time is anything but coincidence.” He added that Abbey told him the position in Colorado was an offer he couldn't refuse.

As for Barrett, he said he has no plans to leave his current position.

“I can tell you right now, harbormaster looks very attractive,” he said. “I have no plans to leave in the future.”

He said they currently have four applications being considered for the director of administrator position, two applicants from in-state and two out-of-state.

There are 18 applications so far for the city manager position with eight applicants from Alaska.

Barrett said one of the last actions of the former city manager was to present the budget to the city council, and they adopted it.

“We're very comfortable right now,” he said.

Some in the community questioned whether the city budget was running a deficit, and one source told the Turnagain Times they believed it was over $200,000. But Barrett dispelled those rumors.

“That is solely untrue that the city is running a deficit,” he stated adamantly.

Barrett provided details to the Turnagain Times in a recent email listing last year's budget numbers as well as the 2010 budget.

He reported that the General Fund Revenues for the City of Whittier were budgeted at $1,849,120 in 2009 and are budgeted at $1,738,500 for 2010.

“In 2009 we achieved a positive position in the budget capping an upward trend from 2005,” he wrote. “Mark Earnest and a very conservative city council were responsible in bringing Whittier to a firm financial footing from a significant deficit in 2005.”

“The Harbor Enterprise Fund, The Water-Wastewater Enterprise Fund and the Parking Enterprise Fund all have positive numbers and are contributing to their savings accounts,” he stated. “We have CVP cruise ship tax in the bank as well as Exxon Valdez settlement funds.”

And Barrett reiterated that the city is sound financially.

“The city of Whittier is in as good shape as it ever has been and there are no deficits,” he said. “We also have several million dollars in unspent grant funding supporting ongoing capital projects such as Shotgun Cove Road, the Harbor Rebuild Project and Development of the Head of Passage Canal.”