Baxter’s police chief, city clerk and EMS director resign

In the past two weeks, three city employees in Baxter submitted resignations, leaving the mayor and council to pick up the pieces and fill vacant positions.

Baxter City Council held a special meeting Feb. 16 to approve the resignations of police chief Bill Daggett and city clerk Katie Wilson, who have both asked to be released from their 30-day clause. The EMS director, Randi Gliem, voluntarily resigned from her position on Feb. 5, according to minutes from past meetings.

Newton News contacted Baxter Mayor Doug Bishop and asked if these recent resignations had anything to do with House File 718, a property tax relief law that he said could have major ramifications to city budget this year and the years to come. Bishop lobbed criticisms directly to lawmakers in January.

However, it does not seem as if the law is directly responsible for the resignations of Daggett and Wilson. Bishop said council has considered restructuring the benefit packages and issued a wage freeze because of the upcoming budget crunch the City of Baxter is going to face.

As far as what the Baxter City Council will do now that roughly half of its employees have resigned, Bishop said there is a plan in place.

“We have a great council, and it’s not the first time I’ve been involved in situations like this,” Bishop said. “I was the mayor 19 years ago before I became county treasurer. We had somewhat of a similar situation, and with everybody working together we came through it just fine.”

Since the city will be without a police chief, the council approved a short-term contract with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office to provide assistance until a new person fills the position. Three volunteers have since stepped up as interim EMS directors to get the city ready for its annual audit.

Baxter will also have an interim city administrator for the time being.