City Manager Tessa Baldwin announced her resignation at a city council meeting in early November. She said was proud to serve her home community and she pointed to her role securing over $20 million dollars in funding for various projects.
“[I] appreciated serving the city of Kotzebue in the capacity that I did for the past two years, I led an amazing team,” said Baldwin. “We just decided that it was best for myself to step down and hopefully have some transition time for the next city manager.”
Her resignation comes as the city faces multiple vacancies and recently-hired employees.
Baldwin’s last official day on the job is set for Jan. 17, but she will continue to serve the city as an independent consultant.
At a Kotzebue city council meeting on Nov. 21, the council approved $175 per hour for Baldwin’s consultation on future and ongoing grants and also to help with the transition for a new city manager.
“We're going to really miss Tessa when she does move on,” said city council member, Joshua Hadley. “We appreciate that she's willing to help the city this way, and I think we ought to get her services.”
According to municipal code, Kotzebue City Council will be tasked with approving Baldwin’s replacement.
At Thursday’s meeting, Baldwin announced two new department heads. Mike Laughlin was hired as the new financial director in early November. Laughlin has worked as an accountant for over three decades and most recently worked with the Fair Housing Authority in Dillingham.
Baldwin also hired Chris Cook as Kotzebue Police Chief.
“He's been with the city of Kotzebue for several years now, starting off at the police department, then becoming superintendent of the regional jail facility,” Baldwin said. “He's been a really great asset to our team.”
Cook replaces the former police chief Roger Rouse who resigned in early October. As of mid-November, the city was still without a fire chief and hiring for nearly a dozen other positions.
The city also approved resolutions adopting a new hazard mitigation plan and naming Kathleen Sherman as Vice-Mayor.
The next city council meeting is set for Dec. 5. On the agenda is the first reading of the 2025 City budget and fee schedule.
