Who should answer city’s questions?
PLYMOUTH HAS JUST HIRED a new city attorney, Crystal Fieber, a PHS graduate, who is part of a team of attorneys in the Hopp, Neumann and Humke law firm … which also advises the Sheboygan County Board as well as several other county municipalities.
That hiring is to replace the long and respected services of attorney Ron Damp, who guided Plymouth through four decades of relative prosperity, growth and development and several touchy issues without a legal misstep.
Plymouth also is actively developing a job description and accepting applications for the new post of director of city services. This is to be a full-time, experienced manager assigned to coordinate the efforts of city departments and advise elected officials of options available to them to make. The position would seem similar to that of a superintendent of the Plymouth School District.
The city is also engaged in negotiations to revive a railroad route from Plymouth eastward through Sheboygan Falls. Such a revival could have significant impact on the industrial-support capabilities of the city. Such a venture requires local municipality agreements as well as scrutiny from state and federal regulators and significant investments by the railroads, businesses to be served as well as municipalities on the route.
And, Plymouth is facing the question of best ways for it’s Plymouth Utilities enterprise, which is responsible for sewage treatment, the provision of water and the buying and re-selling of electricity, to bring the best return to city taxpayers — as well as those outside the city to whom it sells electricity.
Last week it became obvious in a contentious Plymouth City Council meeting that the scope and merits of how to embark upon this exciting new era for the city brings up more questions than have been answered.
One place to ask those questions is while interviewing candidates for the soon-to-befilled position of Plymouth director of city services.
What are the various options available that the candidate has knowledge of due to indepth training in municipal management, personal experience and access to a global network of experts who have had to deal with such problems?
What questions would the candidate ask about the complexities involved that would help the hiring committee decide on whom to choose?
Beyond these immediate and very pressing issues, what does the candidate foresee as the big questions for the future facing the city and the region? And what can be done now to start dealing with them?
For example, if Plymouth is halfway between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac and Milwaukee and Green Bay — all connected by new four-lane state highways, what does Plymouth need to do to get ready?
The most important question might be along the lines of: If Plymouth’s current city government commits to the proposed railway project, and Plymouth Utilities headquarters building project just before you may be hired, why would you accept the job?
That would be one way to screen out competence.
Who would take a job with important decisions to be made if the job was to actually to be a janitor?
At issue: Something or other Bottom line: Do something about it
