Sheboygan leaders provide administrator perspective

PLYMOUTH — The city of Sheboygan thinks a city administrator is a good idea, and Plymouth’s Ad- Hoc City Administrator Study Committee found out why Thursday.

The committee met with Sheboygan Alderman Eric Rindfleisch and retired businessman Gary Maples. The two served on a study committee that recommended Sheboygan adopt a city administrator position.

“We just couldn’t find any negatives, no matter where we poked around or who we talked to,” Maples, who chairs the Greater Sheboygan Committee, told the study group.

“A city administrator is the fastest-growing model for municipal government, not just in Wisconsin but in the nation as a whole,” Rindfleisch said. Maples added that the Sheboygan study group found no cities that were looking to abandon the professional management model.

Several committee members stressed that they have not yet reached a decision on whether or not to recommend such a position for the city of Plymouth.

“I still haven’t made up my mind because I still feel I haven’t heard enough negatives,” committee member Sue Kaiser admitted.

“They’re not cheap, especially in these difficult budget times,” Maples said of city administrators. “Yes, it’s an upfront cost, but it’s probably a frugal move in the long run.”

“Long-term a city administrator will save (the city) some money, but in the short term it will cost some money,” Rindfleisch allowed.

Both Maples and Rindfleisch emphasized the value of continuity that a city administrator brings to city government, maintaining established policies when government changes and implementing new policies that are established.

Maples noted that when a new mayor takes office in a city, “they start with a clear desk and empty drawers, and you lose that continuity.”

“Councils change, mayors change, but the city should still move along,” Rindfleisch added. “A lot of mayors we talked to liked having an administrator to work with. They don’t have to become a wizard overnight. They say it’s nice to have somebody in the office next door who has some expertise.”

Committee member Lee Gentine wondered if continuity is possible if there is too much of a changeover in the administrator position, saying, “Continuity is continuity only if someone is there.”

Rindfleisch responded that the average tenure for a city administrator in Wisconsin is 7 years, with many serving 15 years and longer.

“Is there a possibility that a city administrator becomes such a big part of running a city that policy change becomes more difficult,” Gentine asked.

“You’ve got to make very clear from the start that this is policy and this is administration,” Maples advised. “You need to put things in two different buckets, policy and administration. You probably have more concern with the elected side becoming involved in administration rather than the other way around.”

Both men agreed that a big part of adopting a professional management model is educating the public of the need for and benefit of such a change.

“The public isn’t always happy with why you’re hiring another layer of government and spending money,” Rindfleisch conceded.

“The electorate has to be informed so they can see the value of an administrator, and that can be a difficult task,” Maples agreed.

He went on to note that the Sheboygan study began during the previous administration of former Mayor Juan Perez, “but we tried to make sure this issue was not aimed at (Perez). The more we looked at it, the more we realized it didn’t have anything to do with (Perez). It would have been a good idea before that mayor and it would have been a good idea after that mayor. The Greater Sheboygan Committee feels it is an excellent solution regardless of who is the mayor.”

Rindfleisch cited a paragraph in the study committee’s final report to the Sheboygan City Council.

“The committee felt that an administrator with broad-based training in municipal management can provide consistency through the implementation of common policies and procedures, locate and utilize best practice guidelines, develop strategic planning models to assist the mayor and council in long-range planning and provide continuity and long-term leadership to governmental operations during times of transition,” the committee report stated.

Rindfleisch allowed that, with the change of mayors in Sheboygan following last April’s election, the administrator recommendation has become “a cold-button issue, but I think by fall it will be back on the front burner.”

The Plymouth City Administrator Ad-Hoc Study Committee will hold their next meeting Thursday, Aug. 13, meeting with City Clerk/Treasurer Patty Huberty and Director of Public Works William Immich to get their input on a city administrator.