Alaska alcohol and marijuana regulators are reclassifying three vacant investigator jobs

Alaska's Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office is reclassifying three vacant investigator positions in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, Director Kevin Richard says in a report to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board dated Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The three posts are Special Investigator positions in the enforcement unit, which inspects licensed alcohol and marijuana businesses. Richard's report does not name the new job class, the reason for the change or a hiring timeline.

A separate written report for the same meeting from Chief Investigator Joe Bankowski gives more detail. After several unsuccessful recruitments, the enforcement report says, the office is working to reclassify the positions to Investigator III "to expand the qualified applicant pool and improve recruitment outcomes." In the meantime, Investigators Hamilton and Linger are taking on extra travel to cover areas without permanent investigators.

The office has struggled to fill the jobs for about a year. A November 2025 enforcement report to the Marijuana Control Board said recruitment for the Anchorage and Juneau positions had closed and that the Department of Administration had denied a recruitment waiver for the Fairbanks job. An April enforcement report said the office was evaluating reclassifying its Special Investigator vacancies to attract more applicants.

Richard's June 23 report listed the same three vacancies without mentioning reclassification. The office's staff roster, posted Oct. 10, still lists all three jobs as vacant.

Bankowski's report counts 230 inspections of licensed businesses and 10 alcohol-related notices of violation from Aug. 22 to Nov. 6. He is scheduled to brief the board Tuesday. Reports prepared for the Marijuana Control Board's Nov. 18-19 meeting list the same three vacancies and the same plan to reclassify them.