Legal review finds Palmer city manager complies with voter-approved residency rule

What you need to know:

• An attorney with Palmer's contracted law firm says Palmer Manager Kolby Hickel Zerkel is in compliance with the city's residency requirement.
• Individuals questioned Zerkel's compliance because she remains registered to vote in Anchorage, listed an Anchorage address on campaign finance filings late last year and received an Anchorage primary residence property tax exemption for her home there.
• Zerkel says Anchorage officials previously told her she qualified for the exemption because her family lives in the home. Anchorage tax officials say that guidance was based on a misunderstanding and that Zerkel must personally live in the home to qualify for the exemption. Zerkel says she has contacted the assessor's office for clarification and maintains the issue does not affect her compliance with Palmer's residency requirements.
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PALMER – Palmer City Manager Kolby Hickel Zerkel is in compliance with city residency requirements despite state records and a property tax exemption showing that she has an Anchorage address, an attorney representing the city said last week.

Individuals questioned in social media posts and during public testimony at City Council meetings whether Zerkel, a longtime Anchorage resident, actually moved to Palmer after starting the city manager job last year as required by city law.

Zerkel was given 180 days — or until Oct. 25, 2025 — to relocate within Palmer city limits under the terms of her employment contract. A voter-approved city charter update in early October expanded that requirement to within 5 miles of city boarders.

Address information submitted to the city's human resources department and reviewed by the city's contracted law firm, Anchorage-based Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP, shows Zerkel leases a home within the required area, attorney Anna Crary said in an interview last week.

"On Oct. 16, Kolby completed a personnel form — a standard form the city's Human Resources Department uses for employees — to notify HR of a change of address," she said.

The city charter requires that the manager "shall reside within 5 miles of the city during his or her tenure in office." While city code does not define the term, state law says a person is a resident when they are "physically present with the intent to remain and make a home," Crary said.

The legal review shows Zerkel is in compliance with that standard, Crary said.

The city retains Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP to represent it in legal matters and ensure city officials, including the manager, council members and the mayor, comply with city code, Crary said. The firm is not tasked with defending the manager's actions, she said.

Documents confirming Zerkel’s residency are not available through a public records request because they are part of confidential personnel files, city officials said.

Whether Zerkel resides within the 5-mile limit was questioned this summer after individuals flagged city and state records showing she is registered to vote in Anchorage, used that Anchorage mailing address on official campaign contribution documents filed with the state late last year and received an Anchorage property tax exemption reserved for homes used as the owner's primary residence.

Anchorage residents can receive up to a $75,000 property tax exemption on their primary residence in the city so long as they live in the home for at least 185 days each year and claim residency as of Jan. 1 of the year the exemption is deducted from the tax bill.

Property tax bills and related exemptions are issued each summer and reflect the status of the previous year, meaning a 2026 tax exemption is based on 2025 residency, Anchorage officials said.

Residents apply for the exemption once and then receive it automatically each year thereafter. Municipal tax officials use Permanent Fund Dividend data to help verify the exemptions, but residents are ultimately responsible for notifying the city if they move, officials said.

Zerkel first received the exemption under her name in 2017 after her husband, Russell Miller, died in 2015 from injuries following an avalanche near Cantwell. 

Zerkel now uses her leased home near Palmer as her primary residence but still owns the home in Anchorage because her family continues to live there to reduce disruptions for her school-aged daughter, she said in an interview last week. She said her family plans to fully move to Palmer and sell the Anchorage home as soon as they find a suitable home to buy. 

Zerkel received confirmation from Anchorage tax officials that she qualified for the exemption regardless of where she personally lived because her family still lived in the house last year, according to a June email between Zerkel and municipal tax officials and provided to Mat-Su Sentinel.

But Anchorage tax officials clarified in an email to Mat-Su Sentinel this week that their communication with Zerkel was based on a misunderstanding. To receive the exemption on her 2026 tax bill, Zerkel must have personally lived in the home as of Jan. 1, they said. Whether her family lives there without her is irrelevant, officials said.

Zerkel said she has contacted the Anchorage assessor's office to clarify the issue.

"I discussed the specific circumstances with the Municipal Assessor's Office and, based on that discussion, was advised that the exemption is appropriate. If that guidance changes, necessary adjustments can be made to ensure continued compliance," she said in a statement Tuesday.

Zerkel said how and whether she is eligible to receive a property tax exemption in Anchorage does not change whether she is complying with Palmer law. Many families maintain a second home outside their primary residence, she said in an interview last week.

"My compliance with both the Palmer Municipal Code and the Anchorage Municipal Code has been reviewed by legal counsel," she said in a statement Tuesday. "This matter was evaluated based on the actual facts and the language of the applicable code provisions and charter requirements."

Zerkel also said she intends to update her voter registration to reflect her mailing address in Palmer. She said the Anchorage address listed on a late-2025 campaign contribution report autofilled on her computer and was a mistake.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com