By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Eight candidates are in the running to helm day-to-day municipal operations in Whitewater, based on a report released this week.
Human Resources Director Judy Atkinson provided the Common Council with an outline of the early phases of the recruitment process at a meeting Oct. 4.
Atkinson has been collaborating with GovHR USA, the consulting firm the city hired to dig into the nuts and bolts of searching for the next permanent successor to City Manager Cameron Clapper.
In her report of activities conducted to date, Atkinson indicated Lee Szymborski, a former city administrator, has been undertaking much of the heavy lifting with the recruitment process. In his latest career role, Szymborski serves as the senior vice president of GovHR USA.
The city had posted the city manager position through Sept. 23. Once the deadline passed, Atkinson said Szymborski began the process of reviewing candidates’ credentials for the position.
“Mr. Szymborski reviewed the resumes, interviewed each of the candidates, conducted background reviews — he did his due diligence — and then he also conducted reference checks,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson’s report to the council also shed light on the level of interest for the position.
“He started out with 30 applicants,” Atkinson said of the number Szymborski sorted through in the preliminary stages of the process. “I was very pleased to hear that we had that many applicants.”
Once the preliminary stage of the candidate review process was completed, Atkinson said Szymborski began narrowing in on top prospects.
“He boiled it down to 12, and then he facilitated Zoom interviews for those people,” Atkinson said. “During that process, two applicants withdrew their candidacy, as they had accepted positions elsewhere.”
The current number of finalists stands at eight, Atkinson indicated, and each applicant will be scrutinized by members of a search committee. Three of the seven council members are serving on the committee, as are four city staffers, including Atkinson.
Speaking to Szymborski’s role in the next step, Atkinson said, “He’s going to walk us through the process and the steps as we prepare for the Zoom interviews with the initial group of applicants on the 12th and 13th of October, which is next Wednesday and next Thursday.”
Once the search committee offers feedback, Atkinson said Szymborski will offer further recommendations on a smaller number of candidates.
As the month progresses, the full council will have input on the small number of candidates still in the running, as will city staffers and community members. Several meet-and-greets with the finalists will be announced as October progresses.
“We’re hoping to have this completed by the end of October,” Atkinson said. “It’s very ambitious, but I think we can do it.”
Clapper in July announced his resignation with the city to take a job as Dodge County’s administrator — a position he began assuming in August.
Since his departure, former Mukwonago Village Administrator John Weidl has been serving as Whitewater’s city administrator on an interim basis.
