What you need to know:
- Palmer Municipal Airport Superintendent John Diumenti was unanimously appointed interim city manager by the City Council Tuesday. He will hold the job while the city searches for a permanent hire. His appointment is effective immediately.
- Diumenti replaces former City Manager Stephen Jellie, who resigned last week amid a series of controversies, including allegations of labor law violations. Jellie held the job for 53 days. He will receive a $75,000 payout as part of his resignation agreement.
- The search for a permanent city manager will begin this week, Palmer Mayor Steve Carrington said.
The Palmer City Council on Tuesday unanimously selected Palmer Municipal Airport Superintendent John Diumenti to temporarily oversee city operations while officials search for a permanent replacement for ousted City Manager Stephen Jellie.
Diumenti will serve as interim manager until a permanent replacement is hired, a process that could take months, officials said. His appointment is effective immediately.
Former City Manager Stephen Jellie resigned last week after a tumultuous 53-day tenure marked by allegations of labor law violations and rumors of planned cuts to the city’s public safety budget.
Jellie will receive a $75,000 payout as part of his separation agreement with the city. He was hired in August to replace John Moosey, who retired this summer. Before coming to Palmer, Jellie received $200,000 in payouts through resignations from two previous positions in less than two years. Those buyouts were triggered by what he said were disagreements over proposed budget cuts, first in Ogdensburg, New York, and later in Teton County, Wyoming.
Diumenti, a helicopter pilot, took over management of Palmer’s airport in late 2023. He also works as a firefighter in the Palmer area, he said in an interview last month. He submitted his resume to the council Tuesday in response to a request made to city employees, Palmer Mayor Steve Carrington said in an interview after Tuesday’s meeting. No other employees responded to the request, he said.
Diumenti will receive a 15% salary increase over the course of the temporary promotion. The council plans to solicit candidates through a job posting first published earlier this year, Carrington said during the meeting.
Carrington initially proposed offering the interim position to Kim Zimmerman, a previous finalist for the manager job who traveled to Palmer from Pennsylvania for interviews with the council in May. The council rejected that suggestion, with several members saying they felt it was important to appoint an interim manager familiar with the city rather than an outside candidate.
“What I’m hearing from the community is that they would rather have someone close to home, someone who lives in town and at least has an idea of what our community just went through,” said Council member Carolina Anzilotti. “They know, for lack of a better word, the vibe right now and can be a calming local presence.”
— Contact Amy Bushatz at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.
This story was republished with permission from the original at the Mat-Su Sentinel.
