MONROE — Heading into summer, the city still has two top leadership roles to fill: That of Clerk/Treasurer and the post of fire chief.
The city clerk job — the newest opening — came about when Monroe’s Clerk/Treasurer Brittney Rindy was promoted last week to city administrator, to fill a job left in interim hands after the departure of David Lothspeich.
She will start in her new post during the week of July 15. Before Rindy took over, the roles of City Clerk and Treasurer were separate positions. But with her hiring, the City Clerk/Treasurer, roles were successfully combined, she said, a feature that is likely to remain.
However, the actual job description has gone back to the committee stage before another search is conducted, she said, to help ensure they get a good match for the busy clerk’s post.
“... That will be presented to Salary and Personnel in July to set the salary range and determine if any changes to the position may or may not occur,” said Rindy.
Evan Teich has been working as interim city administrator and pledged to work with Rindy to transition the office to a new administrator prior to Rindy’s effective date. The former full-time administrator, David Lothspeich, came from Illinois and began working as administrator Nov. 2, 2020.
With Al Rufer once again serving as interim fire chief, the lingering search for a new chief continues. The chief’s job has been vacant for much of the past two years.
An ad-hoc committee last year was tasked with addressing leadership and organization in the fire department, but did not specify when a new chief would be hired — only that it be done so under essentially the same all-volunteer operating system that’s in place, with additional outreach to neighboring departments, especially Freeport Rural. The committee wrapped up its work, which included surveys of existing and past members of the fire department, last May.
The city’s Police and Fire Commission will continue its work to hire a new chief but it does not appear to be interviewing candidates just yet.
“The PFC met and made a statement they would wait for the completion of the updates to the job description and the results of the city wage and compensation study before resuming recruitment,” said Rindy. “The job description was just approved by the Common Council on June 19.”
The Wage and Compensation Study, she added, “is nearing its final draft to present to Common Council for review and approval.”
The city needs “a more transparent relationship when it comes to hiring,” said Alder Heidi Treuthardt at the beginning of a joint city committee session last spring to discuss the chief hiring issue. “There seems to be a lot of questions of not knowing what’s going on in hiring.”