Homer City Council Selects Melissa Jacobsen as New City Manager

July 3, 2024                                                                               

Homer City Council Selects Melissa Jacobsen as New City Manager

HOMER, ALASKA –The Homer City Council has selected Melissa Jacobsen to fill the position of City Manager. Jacobsen, who currently serves as Homer's City Clerk and Interim City Manager, was chosen from a pool of three finalists.

Mayor Ken Caster said he is happy to share the news that the City Council has chosen to hire Melissa Jacobsen to be Homer’s next City Manager. “Melissa brings a wealth of experience and training in municipal governance and has been a City of Homer employee for over 20 years. She was appointed to be the interim City Manager when the vacancy occurred in April. While transitions of administrators can be difficult, Melissa has proven her ability to keep things functioning through the mid-term budget review and the active work of the City Council. The Council and I welcome her promotion to be the next City Manager.”

Jacobsen brings 20 years of experience with the City of Homer to the position, having served as City Clerk and, more recently, taken on the added duty of Deputy Director of Administration. Her experience over the years working with elected officials, the City’s advisory bodies, city and state elections, and other City departments have created the stepping stones to this point in her career. 

Melissa Jacobsen said, “I feel honored that the Mayor and City Council have the confidence in me to serve the City in this role. We have a solid team at the City and I’m looking forward to this great opportunity. There certainly are exciting times ahead!”

The search for a new Homer City Manager began in March 2024 after the City Council elected to conclude the employment of former City Manager Rob Dumouchel. The position attracted 32 applicants, who went through a three-phase selection process. All applications were initially reviewed by a City Manager Hiring Advisory Committee comprised of six community members appointed by the Mayor. After evaluation, the Committee recommended nine candidates to City Council.

After receiving the Committee’s recommendations, City Council performed their own application reviews and narrowed the field to three finalists who were interviewed via Zoom in special sessions on Monday July 1 and Tuesday July 2. The other finalists included Randy Robertson and Jefferson Dubel. 

Homer City Council announced their unanimous selection of Jacobsen after conducting the final interview and returning from an Executive Session Tuesday evening. City Council will negotiate Jacobsen’s contract at a future Special Session.