Mason Villarma is earning an extra $10,000 a month while he serves as finance director in addition to his regular work as borough manager.

The borough assembly approved the extra-duty pay in a public vote after an executive session to discuss the issue at the end of its June 24 meeting. There was no opposition in the vote.

Villarma is covering the two jobs after Finance Director Jackson Pool resigned from borough employment. His last day was June 20; he had been splitting his time between Wrangell and Ketchikan, where his family lives. Pool started commuting for the Wrangell job last September.

The extra-duty pay for Villarma was effective June 24, according to the amendment the assembly approved to the manager’s contract, and will remain in effect until a new finance director is hired and starts work.

“I’m optimistic this will be filled by September,” the manager said of hiring a new finance director, noting last week that he already had a good candidate for the job.

The assembly approved similar extra-duty pay of $10,000 a month for Villarma in October 2023, when, as finance director, he took over as acting borough manager with the resignation of Jeff Good.

Mayor Patty Gilbert said paying Villarma the additional salary while covering two jobs will be about equal to the expense of the other option: contracting for an interim finance director, and paying moving costs and housing in Wrangell for the short-term hire.

“It turns out to be the same amount,” she said.

Having someone in the job who is familiar with the borough’s accounting and management practices is particularly important as City Hall is preparing for its annual financial audit in the fall, Gilbert said.

The borough manager’s annual base salary, according to the budget for the fiscal year that started July 1, is $166,000.

The finance director’s annual salary in the budget is $108,000.