MONROE - Effective Sept. 26, Deputy Fire Chief Lane Heins will begin his tenure as interim Monroe Fire Chief to replace Daryl Rausch who recently announced his resignation.
The Mon-roe Board of Police and Fire Commissioners weighed its options in closed session Tuesday afternoon before reconvening to announce the decision.
Heins has been a member of the fire department since Sept. 14, 1999 after moving to Monroe from the Platteville Fire Department. According to the Monroe department website, Heins is responsible for commercial inspections in both the city and Clarno Township and presents fire prevention to schools, businesses and other groups. He also serves as an adjunct teacher at Blackhawk Technical College and is a member of the First Response Team. Heins is certified in a number of firefighter and inspector capacities and as an emergency medical technician.
The interim chief said the fire department should operate as usual, even when Rausch officially leaves to begin his tenure as Fort Atkinson Fire Chief.
"We'll keep going as we do," Heins said. "Chief Rausch has put us in a great position. A lot of this wouldn't be possible without his direction. We've got a great bunch of firefighters who will continue to do their job."
Heins was congratulatory of Rausch, even though the leader of their department will leave a large absence in his wake.
"It's a great challenge for him," Heins said. "No one could ever fill those shoes. He has been a great mentor. We're just going to stay the course."
Commissioners said they intend to hire a replacement fire chief and agreed to use the website Neogov to post the job nationally. The site, which the city has used previously, is provided through Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company.
However, the commission did not decide on details of hiring criteria. Instead, members decided to meet during the week of Sept. 5 to evaluate what specific questions and qualifications would be included in the hiring requirement. They plan to post the hiring publicly following the meeting in September. City Administrator Phil Rath anticipated roughly four to six weeks to whittle down the list of candidates for final interviews.
Also on Tuesday, the city Salary and Personnel Committee recommended Heins be compensated at level 20, step five for his role as interim chief and emergency management director, which would increase his salary to $71,048. Currently as deputy chief, Heins is paid $67,626 annually. The Monroe Common Council must approve the recommendation.
The Mon-roe Board of Police and Fire Commissioners weighed its options in closed session Tuesday afternoon before reconvening to announce the decision.
Heins has been a member of the fire department since Sept. 14, 1999 after moving to Monroe from the Platteville Fire Department. According to the Monroe department website, Heins is responsible for commercial inspections in both the city and Clarno Township and presents fire prevention to schools, businesses and other groups. He also serves as an adjunct teacher at Blackhawk Technical College and is a member of the First Response Team. Heins is certified in a number of firefighter and inspector capacities and as an emergency medical technician.
The interim chief said the fire department should operate as usual, even when Rausch officially leaves to begin his tenure as Fort Atkinson Fire Chief.
"We'll keep going as we do," Heins said. "Chief Rausch has put us in a great position. A lot of this wouldn't be possible without his direction. We've got a great bunch of firefighters who will continue to do their job."
Heins was congratulatory of Rausch, even though the leader of their department will leave a large absence in his wake.
"It's a great challenge for him," Heins said. "No one could ever fill those shoes. He has been a great mentor. We're just going to stay the course."
Commissioners said they intend to hire a replacement fire chief and agreed to use the website Neogov to post the job nationally. The site, which the city has used previously, is provided through Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company.
However, the commission did not decide on details of hiring criteria. Instead, members decided to meet during the week of Sept. 5 to evaluate what specific questions and qualifications would be included in the hiring requirement. They plan to post the hiring publicly following the meeting in September. City Administrator Phil Rath anticipated roughly four to six weeks to whittle down the list of candidates for final interviews.
Also on Tuesday, the city Salary and Personnel Committee recommended Heins be compensated at level 20, step five for his role as interim chief and emergency management director, which would increase his salary to $71,048. Currently as deputy chief, Heins is paid $67,626 annually. The Monroe Common Council must approve the recommendation.