Gladwin council extends Interim City Manager Kimberly Hines' contract; approves 3% staff raise with police pause

Gladwin City Council on Aug. 4 approved a one-year extension of Interim City Manager Kimberly Hines' employment agreement and separately approved a 3% across-the-board pay increase for city staff, retroactive to July 1, 2025. The motion to extend Hines' contract passed on a roll-call vote of six ayes (Caffrey, Crawford, Darlington, Gutierrez, Platt, Winarski) and two nays (Esiline, Sischo).

Council members said the Personnel & Finance Committee reviewed Hines' background check and found no new issues beyond materials previously discussed; Hines submitted a resume, four letters of recommendation and transcripts. Attorney Michael Gildner said he reviewed the contract to ‘‘understand and stand ready to answer questions, but no opinion on the terms’’ was offered on the record. Mayor Sarah Kile asked whether the terms were agreed upon in the meeting; members discussed public commentary that had appeared on Facebook.

On compensation, Interim City Manager Kimberly Hines proposed a 3% pay raise for staff to align with increases negotiated in the DPW agreement, with retroactive pay back to July 1, 2025. The council approved a 3% increase for employees but agreed to delay raises for the police department until a conversation with the Police Officers Association of Michigan negotiator could be held, citing the union's standards regarding negotiations.

The council did not specify contractual language changes for the city-manager agreement during the public portion of the meeting; administrative staff were authorized to complete routine contract paperwork as needed. The record notes Chief Killian will retire on Aug. 18, 2025, and the city intends to seek an internal replacement; the hiring process will be posted on the city's transparency page.