MONROE - Philip Rath will be the next city administrator for the City of Monroe, starting Dec. 6.
The Common Council voted 10-0 Tuesday to approve the employment agreement offered to Rath. Alderman Chuck Schuringa was out of town and did not attend the meeting, but participated in the vote via conference call.
Rath, 33, will receive an annual salary of $75,000, plus all the normal benefits for salaried city employees. He will also get 15 days of vacation and two days of personal leave.
Rath's salary and benefit package allows the council to cut $23,000 from the 2011 preliminary budget, which had $144,600 in the tentative line item for the administrator office's wages and benefits.
Rath is the city's second choice in a list of five finalists applying for the position. The city's first choice removed himself from consideration late last week.
"I know the candidate; it did not surprise me (that he was the first choice)," Rath said by phone earlier Tuesday. "But it works out great to my favor," he added.
Earlier Tuesday, Rath said he chose to apply for the position in Monroe because of the "quality of life" the city has to offer his family of six children, particularly in the city's parks and school district.
He said the position also offered him a professional advancement. He currently serves a duel role as the administrator and clerk in the Village of Clinton.
He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a B.A. in economics from Ripon College.
Rath said he wants to increase the use of technology in the city government and also retain the spirit of the community and school district, which he said helps economic development.
"Employees want those things," he said.
Rath would like to establish a city-wide strategic plan with common values and goals to help the city focus on long- and short-range actions. He also hopes his filling the administrator position will provide stability in the city and for department heads and aldermen.
The city has been without an administrator since May 2008.
The council also voted 9-0 to make public all the meeting minutes of the administrator selection process. The Salary and Personnel Committee, as well as the Common Council, have meet in closed sessions during the process that started in mid-September. Schuringa did not participate in that vote.
At the council meeting Tuesday, Thurston Hanson made the motion "in the interest of transparency and public interest" to release the minutes and all e-mails connected to the city administrator selection process "as soon a legally possible, while protecting the privacy of the candidates as required by law." Michael Boyce seconded the motion.
Included in those records will be the counter offer made by the first candidate, according to Mayor Bill Ross.
Also at the meeting, Jan Lefevre requested a future council agenda include an item about "what is discussed in closed meetings staying in closed meetings."
The mayor noted the request and instructed the city clerk to add the item.
The Common Council voted 10-0 Tuesday to approve the employment agreement offered to Rath. Alderman Chuck Schuringa was out of town and did not attend the meeting, but participated in the vote via conference call.
Rath, 33, will receive an annual salary of $75,000, plus all the normal benefits for salaried city employees. He will also get 15 days of vacation and two days of personal leave.
Rath's salary and benefit package allows the council to cut $23,000 from the 2011 preliminary budget, which had $144,600 in the tentative line item for the administrator office's wages and benefits.
Rath is the city's second choice in a list of five finalists applying for the position. The city's first choice removed himself from consideration late last week.
"I know the candidate; it did not surprise me (that he was the first choice)," Rath said by phone earlier Tuesday. "But it works out great to my favor," he added.
Earlier Tuesday, Rath said he chose to apply for the position in Monroe because of the "quality of life" the city has to offer his family of six children, particularly in the city's parks and school district.
He said the position also offered him a professional advancement. He currently serves a duel role as the administrator and clerk in the Village of Clinton.
He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a B.A. in economics from Ripon College.
Rath said he wants to increase the use of technology in the city government and also retain the spirit of the community and school district, which he said helps economic development.
"Employees want those things," he said.
Rath would like to establish a city-wide strategic plan with common values and goals to help the city focus on long- and short-range actions. He also hopes his filling the administrator position will provide stability in the city and for department heads and aldermen.
The city has been without an administrator since May 2008.
The council also voted 9-0 to make public all the meeting minutes of the administrator selection process. The Salary and Personnel Committee, as well as the Common Council, have meet in closed sessions during the process that started in mid-September. Schuringa did not participate in that vote.
At the council meeting Tuesday, Thurston Hanson made the motion "in the interest of transparency and public interest" to release the minutes and all e-mails connected to the city administrator selection process "as soon a legally possible, while protecting the privacy of the candidates as required by law." Michael Boyce seconded the motion.
Included in those records will be the counter offer made by the first candidate, according to Mayor Bill Ross.
Also at the meeting, Jan Lefevre requested a future council agenda include an item about "what is discussed in closed meetings staying in closed meetings."
The mayor noted the request and instructed the city clerk to add the item.