The Kalamazoo City Commission voted Oct. 30 to approve an employment agreement with Malcolm Hankins to serve as Kalamazoo city manager, with an agreed start date of Jan. 5, 2026.

Commissioner Wilson said the city and Hankins concluded a short, "friendly" negotiation and that the candidate "will be starting at the top of the year," confirming Jan. 5 as the agreed start date. Mayor David Anderson described multiple conversations with Hankins and said he would "do everything that I could to make sure that he was successful as city manager." Public commenters at the meeting praised the commission’s choice and urged the city to pursue trust-building work in the community.

During discussion, Commissioner Decker asked how the transition would work and whether the outgoing manager would remain past Nov. 18. Mayor Anderson said the current city manager’s last day is Nov. 18 and that the commission plans to return at its Nov. 17 regular meeting with a proposal to codify an interim city manager arrangement. Questions about interim compensation were answered generally: the mayor said the cost would be handled as a budget component but no dollar amount was specified. The commission recognized Chief Financial Officer Steve Ascencio and Attorney Liao for assistance finalizing the agreement.

Clerk (City Clerk) called the roll for the employment-agreement vote. Commissioner Decker recorded a "No" vote; Commissioners Bridal, Wilson, Vice Mayor Hess, Mayor Anderson and Commissioner Cooney recorded "Yes." The motion passed. The transcript shows Commissioner Hoffman had been excused earlier in the meeting.

The commission’s action approves the employment contract and confirms the timeline the commission discussed: outgoing manager departs Nov. 18, the incoming manager’s start date is Jan. 5, and an interim city manager proposal will return to the commission at the Nov. 17 meeting.