She has served the city for almost a decade, and now she’s quitting. Bethel City Attorney Patty Burley has submitted her resignation. Her last day will be August 2.
Three months ago, the Bethel City Council fired former City Manager Pete Williams, and that has played a big role in Burley’s decision to leave now.
“After what happened with the city manager, I wasn’t very happy with that,” Burley said. “I don’t feel like this council is acting in the best interest of the city anymore.”
Still, Burley can look back on some major contributions to Bethel over her past 7 years. She’s been a part of projects like the pool, the wind turbines, and a rewriting of the city’s sales tax code.
“I’m really proud of that,” Burley said. “Thanks to some amazing, amazing citizens. Thank God for Bev Hoffman.”
And she’s optimistic about Bethel’s future.
“You’ve still got wonderful people like Lori Strickler. You’ve got Bill Arnold and Gary Watson,” Burley said. “As long as they’re still here, as the day to day, as the backbone of the city, and the council doesn’t micromanage too much, I think the city has a wonderful future.”
Burley is moving south to work as an attorney for the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Her eyes light up talking about Kenai, but there’s also trepidation. After all, her whole career so far has been in Bethel.
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Patty Burley worked with the city for 18 years. That is actually the amount of time Burley has worked in Bethel. She has served as the City Attorney for the past 7 years.
