BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER— The City of Lake Butler has appointed a new city manager and is now waiting for the contract details to be worked out to get her on the job.
At a Dec. 7 special meeting, the city commission selected Kimberly Hayes for the role, filling a slot that has currently been manned by Mayor David Stegall while the application process has been underway. The city has been taking applications for the post for about six weeks after starting over. A previous two-month call for applications did not yield the expected result. Three applicants were chosen from the most recent pool of applications, one of whom failed to attend the interview scheduled for Dec. 7, one who withdrew his application and Hayes.
Hayes was interviewed by the entire board, with questions ranging from employee management, budgeting ability and in regard to her previous experience as supervisor of Union County Solid Waste, Mosquito Control and Animal Control. She spoke to the board members about her experience in employee relations and supervision, citing her 27 years’ experience with the Department of Corrections and her five years as a department head with Union County.
“I fell that I have a lot to bring to the table for the city and would really like to serve the city,” she said.
Commissioner Annette Redman said she had spoken to several acquaintances who worked with Hayes during her years at the state and that no one said anything negative about her. Other commissioners added that there had been a number of phone calls since she was named as an applicant and that all the comments had been positive. The board had advertised the meeting as interviews of applicants with the option to hire their selection and they did so. Motion was made by Redman to offer the position of city manager to Hayes and to set the salary at $85,000 (the upper limit of the salary range advertised) with her start date pending contract review with Mayor Stegall and City Attorney John Maines – upon agreement of the contract Stegall, Maines and all of the board members would be authorized to sign the contract. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Melissa Hendrix and passed the board unanimously. Hayes was appointed as city manager and accepted the appointment.
Hayes said she was pleased to have been granted the position and said she is looking forward to the challenges of her new position.
