· New ADRC Director – I am excited to announce the appointment of Tamara (Tammy) Anderson as the new ADRC Director. Tammy has over 18 years of experience and has worked with a variety of populations including the children, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and the aging. She has served as the Social Services Supervisor at Samaritan for the past three years and prior to this role has held several supervisory and director positions. I strongly believe Tammy will be a wonderful addition to the Washington County leadership team.
· USGA Meeting – Sheriff Schmidt, Captain Theusch, Chairman Gundrum, Second Vice Chair Kriefall and I met with representatives from the USGA regarding the planning efforts for the 2017 US Open. Most of the conversation revolved around the key role which the Sheriff’s Department will play in making the US Open a success. It is our plan to exclude the significant cost of this undertaking from the 2017 budget. Instead the Sheriff will submit an alternative budget with an alternative funding source specifically for this project. Please stay tuned for more information to come in the months ahead.
· Quarterly Breakfast – On Wednesday, I held my quarterly breakfast with employees. This quarter’s participants included Jackie Limbach, County Attorney; Lynn Krenzein, Samaritan; Tom Boden, Highway; Michael Yttri, IS; and, Deb Sielski, Planning & Parks. All participants were nominees for this past year’s Values Awards. We had a very pleasant breakfast, some quality fellowship, and I had a chance to thank them for their hard work, dedication and effort to espouse the values of the County. Again, thank you to our participants!
· WCMA Meeting – This week, we hosted Economic Development Executive Directors from Sheboygan, Washington and Ozaukee Counties that presented to the regional chapter of the Wisconsin City/County Managers Association (WCMA). It was refreshing to hear the various approaches to economic development in the region. A big thank you to Christian Tscheschlok for his presentation as we are very excited about the work and direction that our EDWC is going!
· Department Head Meeting/Picnic – On Thursday, we had our department head annual picnic at Yahr Park. It was a great afternoon and we were able to enjoy the hard work that our Parks staff put into the house at Yahr, which is officially up and running as of this weekend. The renovation is impressive and exemplifies a number of our County values including innovation and optimism as we look for new ways to generate revenues for the County. A big thank you to all of the Parks staff that worked to make that project a success.
· Budget Kick-Off Meeting – The 2017 budget process is now officially underway for our County departments, as Finance Director Hamers presented budget instructions to department budget teams. Next week, committees will begin having discussions resulting from our priority-based budgeting exercise regarding changes to programs that may be incorporated into the 2017 budget. With the work that went into PBB and the level of commitment that I am seeing from all departments across this County to our budget goals, I am confident that we will be able to accomplish the first year of our plan to put Washington County on a track to reduce the deficit and work toward a comprehensive pay plan for employees in the next few years.
· State of the County Presentations – This week, I continued State of the County presentations in the Villages of Jackson and Newburg. These presentations continue to be a great way to communicate and connect with our local municipalities. Next week, there are four more scheduled for the Town of Erin, Town of Barton, Town of Wayne and the Village of Richfield.
· WIN Meeting – For the first time in a few months I took the opportunity this morning to meet with a variety of local business owners and representatives at this month’s Washington County Interactive Network (WIN) meeting. The meeting was hosted at The Range of Richfield and appeared to have over 50 people in attendance. It was nice to be back and thank our local businesses for the important role they play in making our Washington County economy work!
· Ribbon Cutting/Employee Day at the Fair –is on Thursday, July 28, 2016. There will be a ribbon cutting for the stage with WBMI immediately before the inaugural performance. It should be an awesome night and I look forward to seeing everyone there. Special thanks to the HR team for their hard work to organize this event, and to the Executive Committee for making this event possible.
Personnel
Welcome!!
- Zachary Seitz – Sheriff’s Department
- Cody Seibel – Sheriff’s Department
- Scott Nuzzo – Sheriff’s Department
Active Recruitments
- CNA, Dietary Aide, Registered Nurse, RN Relief Supervisor – Samaritan
- Economic Support Assistant, Mental Health Specialist, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Social Worker – Human Services Department
- Communications Officer, Deputy Sheriff, Communications Officer – Sheriff’s Department
- Laborer/Operator/Patrolperson – Highway Department
CONGRATULATIONS to the following employee for her years of service at the County!!
15 YEARS
Scott Schmidt – Highway Department
20 YEARS
Peggy Kurth – Register of Deeds
Tim Groth – Highway Department