MONROE - Green County Board Supervisors voted unanimously to hire Chris Narveson as the new highway commissioner, effective Aug. 1, for a two-year term, following the dismissal of a commissioner with 32 years in the department.
Narveson will begin with a salary at grade 19, step four. County Clerk Mike Doyle said that translates to just over $72,000 annually.
Narveson told the board he was born in Hollandale and spent most of his youth in the Monroe area. He attended the University of Wisconsin. His experience includes work with a sewer and water contractor, a job as an estimator and project manager, and employment with construction company Iverson & Sons LLC of Cottage Grove.
Narveson is currently employed as a zoning administrator for MSA Professional Services of Baraboo and serves as administrator for Lake Delton, West Baraboo and Lyndon.
He has served on the New Glarus village board for nearly 12 years and is currently the board chair, serving on 10 committees.
"I feel like I come with a lot of experience," Narveson said. "I think of this county as my home."
The hiring comes on the heels of the recent dismissal of former commissioner Jeff Wunschel, who served in the position for six years and had been with the highway department since 1982. He and Pete Koch, the general superintendent, were asked to resign during a joint meeting of the county highway committee and Personnel and Labor Relations committee on May 24.
Highway Committee chairman Ray Francois, who moved to recommend Narveson to the county board during a committee meeting on Monday, said he looked forward to seeing the department move in a new direction, which is what officials initially identified as the reason for removing Wunschel and Koch.
Namely, the committee hopes to repair what they see as an employee retention issue. Wunschel and Koch both said the loss of long-time employees and new hires was largely motivated by the state law Act 10 adopted in 2011, which removed certain employee benefits, leaving workers to seek out more profitable positions. Wunschel and Koch both said they were not approached by county officials to discuss the issues before they were asked to leave the department.
In the meeting on Monday, supervisor Russ Torkelson indicated that a lack of communication between department workers and county officials motivated the committee to replace the former commissioner and general superintendent.
In the same meeting, Francois noted that Narveson had management experience that provided new ideas for retaining employees, adding that he was looking forward to seeing Narveson take control of the department.
Narveson will begin with a salary at grade 19, step four. County Clerk Mike Doyle said that translates to just over $72,000 annually.
Narveson told the board he was born in Hollandale and spent most of his youth in the Monroe area. He attended the University of Wisconsin. His experience includes work with a sewer and water contractor, a job as an estimator and project manager, and employment with construction company Iverson & Sons LLC of Cottage Grove.
Narveson is currently employed as a zoning administrator for MSA Professional Services of Baraboo and serves as administrator for Lake Delton, West Baraboo and Lyndon.
He has served on the New Glarus village board for nearly 12 years and is currently the board chair, serving on 10 committees.
"I feel like I come with a lot of experience," Narveson said. "I think of this county as my home."
The hiring comes on the heels of the recent dismissal of former commissioner Jeff Wunschel, who served in the position for six years and had been with the highway department since 1982. He and Pete Koch, the general superintendent, were asked to resign during a joint meeting of the county highway committee and Personnel and Labor Relations committee on May 24.
Highway Committee chairman Ray Francois, who moved to recommend Narveson to the county board during a committee meeting on Monday, said he looked forward to seeing the department move in a new direction, which is what officials initially identified as the reason for removing Wunschel and Koch.
Namely, the committee hopes to repair what they see as an employee retention issue. Wunschel and Koch both said the loss of long-time employees and new hires was largely motivated by the state law Act 10 adopted in 2011, which removed certain employee benefits, leaving workers to seek out more profitable positions. Wunschel and Koch both said they were not approached by county officials to discuss the issues before they were asked to leave the department.
In the meeting on Monday, supervisor Russ Torkelson indicated that a lack of communication between department workers and county officials motivated the committee to replace the former commissioner and general superintendent.
In the same meeting, Francois noted that Narveson had management experience that provided new ideas for retaining employees, adding that he was looking forward to seeing Narveson take control of the department.