Grafton hires works director but not without concerns

The Grafton Village Board came one step closer to filling its administrative ranks Monday when it hired Julie Schuetz Esch as the director of public works and village engineer.

It was a 6-1 vote, with Trustee Lisa Uribe Harbeck dissenting. Much of the discussion had to do with the process of hiring and the fact Schuetz Esch is not a certified professional engineer, a quality the village sought.

What Schuetz Esch has, however, is more than 30 years experience, incoming Village Administrator Tim Wellnitz said.

“Julie stood out not only with her professional background,” he said. “She also has a master’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in urban planning. She definitely has an engineering background that would be helpful to us.”

He said he “felt she has good leadership skills and would be an asset in the department. I think we have the right person here to lead the department. I think she’d be a great addition to the team, filling a lot of the voids we have.”

But Uribe Harbeck questioned why the village would settle for a candidate who didn’t have the certification it wanted. Without that, she said, she fears the village will have to continue to contract for various engineering services.

And, she said, if the proposed salary is an issue, the board should have known that fact so it could decide whether to adjust it. 

Trustee Sarah Scarpace concurred, saying taxpayers won’t be happy if the village hires a department head but still needs to contract for outside services.

Village President Dan Delorit noted that it’s not uncommon for communities to hire outside help, noting everyone has areas they are familiar with and those they are not. Former Public Works Director Amber Thomas, he said, was good at project management and pavement work but not stormwater management.

Uribe Harbeck also questioned the process, noting the Board of Public Works has three engineers on it who were not involved much in the selection process.

“In a highly technical position, I think they could have weighed in and helped,” Uribe Harbeck said. 

It’s normal not to involve trustees or committee members in the process of hiring staff members, Delorit said.

He added that when the search for a public works director began, Public Administration Associates, the search firm the village used, told officials it was unlikely the community would get a certified public engineer.

“PAA kept telling us, ‘You’re probably not going to get anybody,’” Delorit said. “PAA has absolutely no qualms about her (Schuetz Esch).”

Deputy Clerk Ashley Voigt said the village had nine candidates for the position when PAA began its work, a field that was narrowed to four before Schuetz Esch was hired. The professional engineering certifications, she said, was “strongly preferred” in the job description but not required.

Trustee Amy Luft said she has “full trust and respect” for the experts involved in the search process.

“There was a lot of internal support for this person,” she said of Schuetz Esch. “It’s ridiculous if we do not hire this person.”

It’s frustrating that Schuetz Esch doesn’t have the certification, Trustee Kevin Curtis said, “but I don’t think we’re going to find anyone better. We have a candidate Tim (Wellnitz) fully believes in, the staff believes in.”

Trustee Dave Armstrong noted that PAA “got us the best candidate we could find. We should trust their expertise.”

Wellnitz said he’s never had a board question the hiring of a department head.

“You hired me to do a professional job. You should support that effort, not get in the way of it,” he said. “Be realistic about the conditions that are out there. This is a good candidate who fills a major void for us. If we had other candidates, I’d say let’s start over. Sometimes, you have to realize you have what you have.”

Schuetz Esch served as deputy and interim director of Milwaukee County Transit System from October 2023 to July 2025 and as deputy director of Milwaukee County’s Department of Transportation from February 2018 until October 2023.

Prior to that, she was director of operations and deputy director of the Milwaukee County Department of Administrative Services, budget and policy administrator for the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation and Public Works, senior legislative research analyst for the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and a program and planning analyst for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 

Schuetz Esch will be paid $144,000 a year. Her starting date has not been determined, Wellnitz said.