Reaching New Heights: Leading Through Public Service
Governing Body
The mayor and city council form the City of Gardner Governing Body. This group is responsible for establishing and enforcing all municipal laws, ensuring city services meet the desires and needs of the community, and formulating policies that guide the operation of the organization. To help meet these objectives, the governing body established four long-term strategic goals to guide their vision and funding decisions for Gardner, Kansas. The following goals set the priorities for the organization and help bring plans and projects to fruition:
Todd Winters
Mayor
Mark Baldwin
Council President
Kacy Deaton
Council VP
Steve Shute
Councilmember
Mark Wiehn
Councilmember
Steve McNeer
Councilmember
Even within a fluid employment market, the City of Gardner has continued to build a high-performing workforce, reaching new heights in efficiency and service delivery. The challenges posed by a dynamic labor environment have not deterred our commitment to excellence. Instead, they have inspired our innovative approaches to workforce development and strategic growth. Our goal remains the same: to provide efficient, citizen-focused service delivery.
We have concentrated on identifying and strategically adding new positions to support the growing needs of our organization. This proactive approach has enabled us to meet the increasing demands of our community while maintaining the high standards of service our citizens expect and deserve.
The City of Gardner is reaching new heights by building a workforce that is resilient, dynamic and prepared for the future. Our strategic efforts in 2023 have laid a strong foundation, and our commitment to ongoing improvement in 2024 ensures that we will continue to thrive in a competitive employment market. Together, we will achieve new levels of success, delivering the highest quality of service to our community.
City Leadership
Jim Pruetting
City Administrator
Jason Bruce
Parks & Rec. Director
Gonzalo Garcia
Utility Director
Kellen Headlee
Public Works Director
David Knopick
Community Dev. Director
Pam Waldeck
Police Chief
Matthew Wolff
Finance Director
Mission
To provide exceptional services to benefit and enrich the community.
Vision
We are recognized as a high-performing progressive organization
setting the bar for excellence in service delivery.
Values
Commitment
We are passionate about the services we provide. We are loyal to our employees, dedicated to our customers, and steadfast about accomplishing the vision and mission of the organization and community.
Integrity
We are ethical, honest and transparent in our communications and actions.
Professionalism
We incorporate industry best practices, achieve desired results and foster respectful relationships.
Stewardship
We responsibly plan, manage, care for and enhance the community’s resources.
A Job Well-Done
Jody Demaline
Jody Demaline retired after 31 years of dedicated service. He faithfully served the City of Gardner as the Public Works Superintendent, overseeing street maintenance and improvements, snow and ice removal operations, traffic light performance, citizen requests and more. Jody’s friendly disposition, prompt responses to requests and technical expertise will be deeply missed. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jody for his outstanding commitment and many years of service.
Mike Gardner
Mike Gardner retired after 19 remarkable years of service as an engineering technician II for the City of Gardner. Throughout his tenure, Mike’s professionalism, meticulous attention to detail, and steadfast commitment have consistently upheld the safety and quality of numerous public infrastructure projects he inspected, leaving a lasting impact on the Gardner community. We sincerely thank Mike for his exceptional contributions as a colleague, mentor and friend and wish him a well-deserved retirement.