Rhinelander city council votes to fire public works director

By Shereen Siewert

RHINELANDER, Wis. — After months of controversy the Rhinelander city council on Monday voted to fire Public Works Director Tim Kingman, effective immediately.

WJFW reports Mayor Chris Frederickson cast the tie-breaking vote in a 5-4 decision following a closed-door session. Kingman was placed on paid administrative leave June 3 amid complaints from several department employees alleging a hostile work environment during his tenure.

Kingman in March presented a declaration of “no confidence” in City Administrator Daniel Guild, who accepted the job in September. But 15 city employees responded to the declaration with their own letter of full confidence in Guild’s performance.

Kingman is one of several Rhinelander employees to either resign or be terminated in the past year.  Guild will serve as interim public works director, according to the WJFW report.