Petersburg Pilot -

Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) announced the departure of Tribal Administrator Bobbi Scherrer in a press release yesterday. Scherrer’s position and two part-time positions will be eliminated from PIA due to a budget deficit.

“My first act as Tribal Administrator was to formalize an operating budget for PIA,” Scherrer said in the release. “The 2015 finalized budget identified a deficit that required serious cuts.”

Scherrer has been serving as the tribal administrator for about one month. In a February interview, she told the Pilot she was excited to be returning to her hometown of Petersburg after working for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) for three years in Juneau.

Several positions at PIA are grant funded. Those positions and grand-funded programs will remain in operation, according to the release.

“I have made recommendations to the board of directors for moving forward and have full confidence this board will continue to set PIA on the right path for the future,” Scherrer said in the release.

Facing a similar budget deficit PIA cut the tribal administrator position and three administrative positions back in Oct. 2013. At that time PIA had three loans totaling about $800,000 for the purchase and renovation of the Seaside Restaurant, which remains closed and up for sale.

Details about the budget shortfall of the 2015 budget have not yet been released.