Battle Creek commission approves closed session to review city manager applications, interviews three finalists

The Battle Creek City Commission voted Aug. 7, 2025, to enter a closed session to review confidential employment applications for the city manager position and held interviews with three finalists during a special meeting at Battle Creek City Hall.

The closed-session vote came after a motion to approve Resolution 206 to set a closed session for review of city manager applications; the motion was seconded and the commission approved the resolution. The commission then recessed to interview the three finalists and later returned to the public meeting for brief comments and a staff summary of public feedback.

The city heard two members of the public urge the commission to reconsider its external finalists and to consider promoting an internal candidate. Autumn Smith, a resident who spoke during general public comment, said she had concerns about the outside finalists: “I feel compelled to voice deep concerns about some of the finalists currently being considered.” Tiffany Blackman, a business owner and 42-year resident, urged the commission to reassess Marci Gillette, who was identified in the meeting as the city’s community services director: “Iam here today to advocate for the commission to decline offering the city manager role to Carl Gaffigan, Amanda Zimmerman, or Matt Hairline and conduct a reassessment of Marci Gillette.”

Commissioners then conducted a scheduled interview sequence. The commission set roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes for each candidate, with 13–15 standard interview questions and additional items requested by commissioners. Candidates included Matt (from Villa Park, Ill.), Amanda Zimmerman (Clayton, Ohio) and Carl (formerly of Fort Smith, Ark.), each introduced and questioned by the commission during the public session. In his interview, Matt described his management approach and said, “I bring a servant leadership mentality to this.” Amanda said she was recruited for the position and cited an interest in Battle Creek’s potential, saying, “Clay found me. He recruited me through LinkedIn.” Carl described fiscal review and organizational turnaround work from prior roles and framed fiscal stability and community economic activity as near-term priorities.

SGR, the firm contracted to manage the recruitment, reported public feedback gathered at a “meet-and-greet” session the prior evening. Lay Pearson of SGR summarized themes that emerged from public comments, including a desire for a city manager who is “approachable and [a] strong communicator,” forward-looking and collaborative with the community and staff.

Formal action taken at the meeting was limited to Resolution 206 setting the closed session; no hiring decision was announced during the public meeting. After interviews and a brief public-summary presentation, the commission recessed into the approved closed session to review confidential applications and deliberations. The commission indicated it would complete its deliberations in closed session; no appointment or vote to hire was recorded in the public record that evening.

Votes at a glance Resolution 206 (set closed session to review confidential employment applications for city manager on Aug. 7, 2025) — approved; mover and seconder not specified in the public transcript; vote tally not specified.