General Updates
- STH 60 Truck Reliever Route – For your information, I have attached a letter of support from EDWC and the referenced Corporate Survey where “highway accessibility” is the number-one driver for corporate location decisions. This week, we continued progress discussing the next steps of this project. This included a meeting at the State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, coordinated by Supervisor Michalak, with a number of State Representatives, WisDOT officials and project stakeholders. This discussion was successful in bringing the project to the attention of these key players at the State, as well as providing context on the participation/assistance that the State is able to provide. I plan to give a more thorough report to the Transportation Committee next Tuesday.
- Administrator’s Quarterly Breakfast – On Tuesday, I invited the Core Value award recipients to breakfast to discuss issues within the County. The meeting was very well received! In addition to a nice breakfast we had a very productive conversation on how to improve employee morale, as well as how to best communicate some of the County’s health insurance fund challenges with employees. We plan to continue breakfasts with various County employees on a quarterly basis. Congratulations again to our winners: Ashley Reichert – Innovation; Eric Hyde – Collaboration; Lena Zinuticz – Optimism; Leigh Sanderson – Integrity; Jeff Schwitz – Respect; Kari Dreikosen (not pictured) – Compassion . Thanks for making Washington County a great place to work and do business! Also, special thanks to Jerry Van Erem (Samaritan Cook) for his extra effort to put together the delicious breakfast!
County Administrator Goals – On Thursday, the Executive Committee finalized my goals for 2016. The Daily News article regarding this discussion is attached for your information. Also, please find the finalized copy of the 2016 Goals!
- Information Services Ad Hoc Committee – Also on Thursday, Chairman Tennies appointed Supervisor Deiss, Supervisor Gundrum, and Supervisor Kriefall to an ad hoc committee to help address some of the governance and budgeting issues surrounding the Information Services (IS) Division. The Committee will meet periodically in the next few months making policy recommendations to the Executive and/or Administrative Committee. Thanks to Jamie Ludovic, Eric Damkot and Dawn Sericati for their cooperation in improving customer service!
- ADRC Transition – Linda Olson and I met on Wednesday for lunch to discuss next steps in the succession plan for her impending retirement this coming June. It is our goal to have a plan in front of the new Health & Long Term Aging Committee at their first meeting in May.
- On-site Healthcare Meeting – Per the direction of the Administrative Services Committee we continue to progress in our efforts to create an RFP for the creation of an On-site Healthcare Clinic. We are working closely with both the City of West Bend and West Bend School District to gain potential efficiencies via economies of scale. If everything goes as I’d hope, we will have an RFP out by the end of March.
· PACE – In another opportunity to work collaboratively with our municipal partners, on Tuesday we had a meeting with the City of West Bend, Wisconsin Counties Association, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, EDWC and others regarding the potential of a new economic development tool called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). Similar to our Revolving Loan Fund the program provides integral “gap financing” to assist in the feasibility of economic development projects. Currently EDWC is doing due diligence on the processes and procedures necessary to implement the potential program. If it transpires into a viable option for Washington County and our local municipalities, Executive Committee may see a presentation/proposal in the coming months. Special thanks to Mayor Sadownikow for bringing this potential tool to our attention, and to Christian Tscheschlok for doing the homework to ensure its viability!
- Spot Bonuses – This week, 4 spot bonuses were given out to a team of employees that has been working since last summer on an ongoing contract dispute. We received word this week that the County will settle a portion of the dispute and see an approximate $40,000 credit on our account-an amount approximately $7,000 above our outstanding balance. A big Thank You to BJ Karnitz, Dawn Sericati, Eric Damkot and Chris Ohlis for your commitment to this issue!
Personnel
Moving On…..
- Barbara Staven, Health Department – Resigned
- Kevin Sommers, Sheriff’s Department – Resigned
Promotion***
- Christopher Killey, Investigator – Sheriff’s Department
Active Recruitments
- Activity Aide, CNA, Dietary Aide, LPN, Registered Nurse, RN Relief Supervisor – Samaritan
- Senior Social Worker – Human Services Department
- Environmental Health Specialist, Communicable Disease/Immunization Public Health Nurse, WIC Nutritionist – Health Department
- Project Manager/Deputy Surveyor – Highway Department
- Administrative Intern – Administration Department
- Clerical Pool – Human Resources Department
CONGRATULATIONS to the following employees for their years of service at the County!!
5 YEARS
Nickole Schmidbauer – Human Services Department
15 YEARS
Aaron Walsh – Sheriff’s Department
Dan Survis – Sheriff’s Department
Hope Demler – Sheriff’s Department
25 YEARS
Scott Loiacono – Sheriff’s Department
Tammy Leonard – Human Services Department
