New mayor sworn in

PALMER — Larry DeVilbiss was sworn in as Mat-Su Borough mayor Friday and, at least to hear him tell it, he won’t be wasting any time getting down to business.

He spent most of Friday filling out paperwork to take on his new part-time job. The borough mayor runs assembly meetings, but DeVilbiss’ first opportunity to wield that gavel won’t come until Tuesday. He was elected Jan. 11 to serve a two-year term ending in October 2012. About 10 percent of registered Mat-Su Borough voters cast ballots in that election.

However, DeVilbiss did make time this week to assign the borough attorney a task. DeVilbiss said he wants to have a prayer at the start of borough meetings. The attorney is looking into it.

“I just told him what I wanted to do at the next assembly meeting. I don’t know how much attorney time that costs or not,” he said.

Also at the top of his agenda is increased public input in borough meetings.

“I would like to set the assembly meetings up so that the packets and everything are available online and people, registered voters, would be able to vote and have those votes displayed by district in the assembly room before the assembly votes and people could do that from their homes,” he said.

And, last but not least, DeVilbiss is making a move that will very likely spur lively debate — he said plans to ask members of boards and commissions for letters of resignations. He said he will draft a letter requesting those resignations soon, but he hasn’t had time with all the paperwork.

The mayor is in charge of appointing people to those boards. That he’s asking for resignations doesn’t necessarily mean DeVilbiss will appoint all new members. Some members would be reappointed, he said.

The move is similar to one Gov. Sean Parnell made when he won election this year, after which he asked all of his department heads to resign. DeVilbiss said Parnell doesn’t own the patent on it, though.

“It’s standard process in state government, but it doesn’t mean we’re stopping any of the business that’s on deck with the boards and commissions. It indicates who’s willing to comply with the mayor and be part of the ongoing process,” he said.

The boards and commissions have been something of a sore topic at the borough lately. DeVilbiss’ predecessor, Talis Colberg, went back and forth with the assembly as he tried to appoint members to the planning commission, found little support at the table for his nominees, then worked to find a compromise. Between Colberg and DeVilbiss, deputy mayor Ron Arvin filled in as a temporary replacement. During his months on the job Arvin led the charge and disbanded the Real Property Asset Management Board.

In addition to running meetings and appointing members to boards and commissions, the borough mayor also has veto power and breaks tie votes. Other than that the mayor is mostly an ambassador. That ambassadorial role is why the mayor can often be found attending conferences or meeting with legislators in Juneau or meeting with other local mayors.

On the conferences front, DeVilbiss said there is one in Juneau he plans to attend soon.

“I’ll be attending the Alaska Municipal League conference with the other mayors because there’s a lot there in our interest there,” he said. “I will not be attending out of state mayors’ things. It’s a nice junket, but the returns for the borough, in my opinion, are very minimal.”

He said aside from that trip to Juneau he’ll leave lobbying the Legislature up to the borough’s lobbyist, someone he’s sat down with and intends to keep contact with.

As for meeting with other local mayors, DeVilbiss said he’s made moves on that front, too, contacting mayors Verne Rupright in Wasilla, Dan Sullivan in Anchorage, and DeLena Johnson in Palmer.

Johnson said she’s very happy to get started working with her newly installed colleague.

“I think there’s a similarity in the fact that he’s a new mayor and he’s going to have a new manager and I’m a new mayor and I have a new manager,” she said. “I think it’s a very positive opportunity to step out from the roles that have already been set in stone.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.