How Did We Miss This?
Can someone please tell me when Wausau City Council President became the Village Administrator for Kronenwetter? How does this happen?
I am unsure if I understand this in any way. Right now we are missing a Director of Development, an HR Director, and a City Attorney, and whatever it was Kristen Fish did. Yet we are fine with our City Council President giving his professional resources to another city.
If City Councilperson Rosenberg is not allowed to vote on things that could be seen as conflict with his day job (which he does very well, mind you), what is NOT a conflict for Mr. Forrest now? What piece of city business undertaken by the City of Wausau does not impact in some way this Village of Kronenwetter?
I find it shocking that our leadership pool has accepted this. While I do not think that we are in some sort of resource-based competition with the Village of Kronenwetter, we continue to have huge holes in Wausau. Could Forrest’s skills not be put to better use in the city he LIVES IN?
Tom Neal said:
Excellent questions. Let’s see, say I’m a CEO of a medium-size manufacturing company and I’m looking to expand with a new plant. I want to be courted by a community that will impress me with incentives, infrastructure accommodations, and other synergistic potentials. And I then might end up talking to one guy from two competing locations. Dino’s concerns might not be reality-based, or they may be very apropos.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:10 am #
Jim Rosenberg said:
Well, let me play devil’s advocate for a minute — and I agree these are good questions. Mr. Forrest is a consultant who specializes in municipal management issues. I would argue that very few things involved with being a Wausau City Council member (policy decisions) are likely to directly or even indirectly relate to the Village of Kronenwetter. If there was an issue like that, I’m sure Mr. Forrest would abstain from the discussion and voting.
As for whether his skills could be put to better use in the City of Wausau, remember that you’re talking about his DAY job; the way he makes a living. The City of Wausau does not provide Mr. Forrest with a living; it pays him a little over $100 a week. It could be argued — and I would — that it would be a far greater conflict for him to be involved in a situation that mixes a policy role (council) with a staff role (executing policy made by the policy-making body) for the SAME city. It may not even be legal. But for DIFFERENT communities and serving in DIFFERENT roles, an argument can be made that it’s probably not much of a conflict at all (as counterintuitive as that may seem, at first blush.)
So I’ll grant you that it’s an unusual situation, but I can’t concede that it’s necessarily improper or even a bad idea — particularly if we’re talking about an interim situation in which the Village of Kronenwetter is in need of the skill set that Bill Forrest can bring to the table. He here, they know him and that’s what he does. It gives them time to take a more thoughtful and deliberate approach toward their long-term needs while still getting through the critical budget period, etc. right now.
A current example that is perhaps even more interesting: the Manitowoc County Administrator is also a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was recently re-elected to the Assembly seat and he ran unopposed. Both positions pay a not insignificant salary and have benefits available in their respective capacities that are ordinarily associated with being a full-time employee. The relationship between counties and the state is far more intertwined than that of two municipalities like Wausau and Kronenwetter. (For all I know, he might be donating half of his salary to charity and refusing benefits from one of his taxpayer-funded employers — but that’s really beside the point, isn’t it?)
November 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
Is there a timelimit in place for his time at Kronenwetter?
Was this discussed with the ethic committee?
The Village is in need of so so so very much, I doubt one man even as qualified as Bill, will be the answer.
Thanks for jumping in.
But I have to say, stop being the go to guy, let others carry the weight. I worry about your health.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm #
dcvoterboy said:
it wasn’t missed. it was foretold:
http://citizenwausau.com/dcvoterboy/2008/10/29/kronenwetter-hearts-wausau-offers-president-of-wausau-council-chance-to-run-kronewetter-too/
what’s shocking, is the lack of news this has made.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:33 pm #
from here to there and back again. • Wausau. Turtle Lake. Kronenwetter. 1 City, 2 Villages. One Man…Bill Forrest. said:
[…] Forrest’s newest job is as Interim Administrator for Kronenwetter. As pointed out here on Citizen Wausau, Wausau is missing some key positions, as is Kronenwetter. And how long is the interim position […]
November 12th, 2008 at 11:53 pm #
dcvoterboy said:
…and we continue where dino left off…
http://citizenwausau.com/dcvoterboy/2008/11/13/wausau-turtle-lake-kronenwetter-1-city-2-villages-one-manbill-forrest/
November 13th, 2008 at 6:40 am #