CBJ promotes from within to get new deputy manager

Published 11:15 pm Friday, December 11, 2015

The City and Borough of Juneau will begin the new year with a new deputy city manager.

On Friday, the CBJ announced that its human resources director, Mila Cosgrove, will replace Rob Steedle as deputy city manager. Steedle, who has been double-hatted as the interim director of community development, will move into that position full-time. The switch becomes effective Jan. 4.

The position of deputy manager has become more important since sitting manager Kim Kiefer announced her pending retirement. At the end of October, after an initial review of replacements wasn’t promising, the city extended its recruitment period and announced that Kiefer would delay her retirement until the end of April.

Likewise, the city has had trouble replacing Community Development Director Hal Hart, who left his job in September. Steedle said he has enjoyed filling in for Hart and helping projects move through permitting in the CBJ.

Steedle said he and Kiefer were discussing the issue and she, “in a more or less offhand way, said one day … ‘Maybe you should take it, Rob.’”

“I didn’t realize I was that transparent,” Steedle said. “I thought about it and talked about it and said, ‘If you’re serious, I’m serious.’”

Steedle’s move will result in a pay cut for himself, but he said he’s interested in solving some of the problems the city faces with development, including land use restrictions.

After Steedle made his decision, the question became who would replace him as deputy manager. Cosgrove, the CBJ’s HR director, was already involved in the process and put her name up for the position.

“I’m quite happy to step into the deputy role,” she said, adding that she likes the work the city does and likes “that we serve our friends and neighbors.”

She said she doesn’t have a particular target for change at the CBJ, except to continue doing good work.

“I don’t really see it as coming in and saying this needs to change,” she said.

Also on Friday, the city formally announced the creation of the Chief Housing Officer position in the CBJ. This director-level position, which will report to the deputy city manager or manager, will be paid $92,000 to $98,000 annually to oversee all of the CBJ’s efforts to improve the availability of housing in Juneau and reduce its cost.

“We believe that having this new key position will pick up on the work Hal Hart was doing in generating enthusiasm for maximizing the use of properties,” Steedle said.

He added that the ideal candidate is “someone that makes deals happen,” whether in the private sector or with organizations including the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

The job has been advertised since Nov. 24 on the city’s website.