As Assembly Leadership, Chair Suzanne LaFrance and Vice Chair Christopher Constant issued the following statement on the termination of Municipal Manager Amy Demboski and her revelations to the press regarding the circumstances of her termination:
We are taking this incident very seriously and are gathering as much information as possible before drawing a final conclusion. However, some of the accusations that have been made are alarming and we plan to conduct our own inquiry into the matter.
Personnel matters within the executive branch are in the jurisdiction of the mayor and his administration, so the Assembly is limited in its ability to investigate and take action on any improper conduct by executive employees. However, allegations of misconduct with public funds are firmly within the purview of the Assembly, so we are currently developing a plan to investigate the administration's handling of contracts and adherence to purchasing rules.
As the stewards of the municipal treasury, it's our duty to ensure that taxpayer funds are spent legally and effectively. We've already seen this administration put millions of dollars at risk due to alleged personnel and contract improprieties. We can't afford to let any more poorly executed contracts put the municipality's strong financial footing in jeopardy. Therefore, we as Assembly Leadership are committed to doing everything in our power to safeguard the municipality's finances and protect the interests of residents.
Additionally, while personnel matters are outside of the Assembly's jurisdiction, we want to remind all Municipal employees of the resources that are in place if any municipal employee is aware of further improprieties that warrant investigation. Employees can reach out to the Municipal Ombudsman's Office (907-343-4461 or ombud@muni.org) to learn about their options, including filing with the Municipality of Anchorage Labor Relations, the Municipality of Anchorage Office of Equal Opportunity, the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.