Bethel City Manager Peter Williams got a 2 percent pay raise from the city council following his annual review on Tuesday night. KYUK was in the council chambers for a long and heated debate, which capped off a tense meeting that went into the late hours.
At 10:40 p.m., the evaluation began for the city manager, who requested that his review be public.
“He’s giving up his right to have his reputation be out in public, not behind closed doors,” said Vice Mayor Raymond “Thor” Williams, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Fred Watson.
A number of people showed up to give public comments on Tuesday. Some for a sewer and water issue, but some to tell the council that City Manager Williams has their support. People like former council member Mark Springer and Bethel Native Corporation President Ana Hoffman spoke in favor of Williams.
“I’ve really observed him work in the best interests of our community, so he puts other people's needs before his own,” said Hoffman.
Many council members agreed when review time came, including Leif Albertson, Fritz Charles, Perry Barr, and Mitchell Forbes.
“When Pete has not known something, he’s told us that,” Forbes said. “Something that’s really great about Pete is he’s not going to try and hide something from us. If it’s something that the finance director, the public works director, or anyone else needs to explain, Pete has made a point to have those folks available.”
Council members did say that they’d like to see a survey of city employees conducted, and more accountability in the finance department. Williams has been using outside consultants because no permanent finance director has been hired. On the whole, most thought Williams deserved a 2 percent raise.
Then came Vice Mayor Williams' turn.
“It’s probably the hardest relationship I’ve had with any city manager is with our present city manager,” said Williams. “I’ve never been yelled at city meetings before by city managers, and disrespected by city managers, and continue to be yelled at, and screamed at, and talked down to.”
But most of the council felt didn't see it that way. During the meeting, Perry Barr introduced a conduct code to require council members to maintain civil decorum in their treatment of city staff, which Vice Mayor Williams said he felt was aimed at him. That item was tabled for outside legal analysis.
The final vote on the pay raise was four to two, with Carole Jung-Jordan and Vice Mayor Williams opposing it.