Port ramps up search for new city administrator

The search for a successor to longtime Port Washington City Administrator Mark Grams is expected to begin in earnest at the end of this week.

Representatives of Public Administration Associates, a firm hired by the city to help in the search, told the Common Council on Dec. 17 that they will kick off the recruitment effort on Dec. 17 by posting the position followed a few days later by a video announcement.

That announcement will include commentary by Mayor Marty Becker as well as a video of the city, PAA President Kevin Brunner said.

It will be a nationwide search, Brunner said, with postings through a number of professional organizations, college and university job boards and social media.

His firm will also contact potential candidates for the job, Brunner said.

“We’ve already identified nine to 12 candidates,” he said. “We think there are some really good people out there. We’ve already heard from people in the area interested in the position

“We’re seeing some really good candidate pools lately. Wisconsin is a draw right now, and we think Port Washington is a great opportunity.”

Brunner said that while the city needs to get the search underway quickly, the best time to start is after Christmas.

“It’s fruitless to start until after the holidays,” Brunner, a former Saukville village administrator, said. “We’re going to hit the ground running right after Christmas.”

Grams, who is only the city’s second administrator, announced his retirement in October. He has not set a formal date but said his last day will likely be Feb. 7.

The announcement notes that the city is seeking a “dynamic and proven municipal leader” with at least a bachelor’s degree in public or business administration or a related field and preferably a master’s degree as well as at least eight years of “progressive municipal experience.”

The announcement notes that the administrator will be dealing with downtown and lakefront redevelopment, new fire station planning, long-range financial plan implementation, including the replacement of aging infrastructure, property reassessment and community development.

Someone who has a collaborative style, is forward thinking and is an “out of the box thinker” with a commitment to public service and a history of stable tenure is being sought, the posting states.  

Those qualities were gleaned from surveys filled out by the aldermen, Brunner said.

The announcement also states that residency is encouraged, and the salary range is between $106,000 and $123,000.

They want “someone willing to stick around for a long time,” Ald. Jonathan Pleitner said.

Ald. Mike Gasper asked if the announcement narrowed the educational requirements too much, noting that engineers and planners could also be good candidates, something Brunner said would be taken into consideration. 

A tentative schedule shows that applications would be due to PAA on Jan. 29, and a mini-resume of each candidate would be sent to aldermen by Jan. 31.

Semi-finalists would then be chosen by the Common Council in a closed meeting, and those candidates would prepare video interviews. PAA would also conduct a check of the semi-finalists’ resumes.

Aldermen would review the interviews and reference reports in closed session on or around Feb. 18, when finalists for the job would be chosen.

The finalists would be invited to the city  for a visit in late February or early March, during which they would not only meet with officials, city staff members and community representatives, they would also go through an assessment center, emotional intelligence test and other exercises, Brunner said.

Becker asked if the council could add a candidate to the list of semi-finalists if officials know someone they believe is qualified.

“There will be some qualified local candidates,” Brunner said. 

He emphasized that the decision of who to hire is the council’s, not his company.

The schedule calls for the Common Council to hire an administrator in early to mid-March with the person starting work in mid-April.

Because Grams is expected to leave before that time, the city’s Personnel Committee met Monday morning in closed session to consider the terms of employment for an interim administrator.