We lead
by serving
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
Steve Shute
Council VP
Kacy Deaton
Councilmember
Tory Roberts
Councilmember
Mark Wiehn
Councilmember
Even within a fluid employment market, the City of Gardner has continued building a high-performing workforce. In order to ensure efficient, citizen-focused service delivery, we have concentrated on identifying and strategically adding new positions to support the growing needs of our organization. We have made strides towards streamlining the employment process, making it simpler and more attractive for prospective employees to ensure positions are quickly filled by well-qualified candidates. We have also focused on employee retention, making salary adjustments for the city’s sworn officers in the police department, and other salary adjustments to remain competitive in a changing marketplace and allow the City of Gardner to remain an organization where employees want to work. Employee participation in our award-winning wellness program helped us maintain steady health insurance coverage costs for the second year in 2022. In 2023, we are committed to continual review of our programs and policies to determine what meaningful, but practical changes can be made to ensure we remain competitive with both recruitment and retention.
City Leadership
Jim Pruetting
City Administrator
Amy Nasta
Dep. City Administrator
David Knopick
Community Dev. Director
Matthew Wolff
Finance Director
Jason Bruce
Parks & Rec. Director
Jay Belcher
Police Chief
Kellen Headlee
Public Works Director
Gonzalo Garcia
Utility 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
Chief Jay Belcher
On March 31, 2023, Chief Jay Belcher retired from the city after 25 years of dedicated service. Jay’s career started in the Public Safety Department as a firefighter and police officer. From there, he served in several capacities for the Gardner Police Department, including Police Sergeant, Police Lieutenant, Police Captain, and lastly, Police Chief for nearly four years. Jay will be remembered for his strong leadership, high moral character and good decision-making skills. Jay will continue to live in Gardner with his family, enjoying his kids’ school and sports functions. He also plans to stay active in the community. Job well done to Jay for playing an instrumental role in the success of the Gardner Police Department and the organization. We wish him a well-deserved retirement.
Captain Lee Krout
After 26 years of service, Captain Lee Krout will retire from the Gardner Police Department. Lee started his career in law enforcement as a Reserve Officer. He then worked his way up the ranks serving as Police Sergeant, Detective Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. During his tenure, Lee was instrumental in several of the department’s key initiatives, including developing its in-car and body camera systems and records management systems and finalizing the completion and move-in process to the Gardner Justice Center. Lee’s last day with the city is May 1, 2023, and he plans to spend more time riding trails in the Ozarks. We thank Lee for his dedication and service.