Former Whitefish Bay Administrator Hired in Waukesha

The man who served as Whitefish Bay's village manager through the majority of the 1990s has now been hired to manage the affairs of Waukesha.

Henschel, who was village manager of Elm Grove from 1977 to 1993, and Whitefish Bay from 1993 to 2000, will begin his job as Waukesha City Administrator on Monday.

Henschel is the executive director of the Wisconsin City/County Management Association, a post he has held since 2001. He also is the general manager and senior consultant for RW Management Group and an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Waukesha Common Council unanimously approved his hire Tuesday night. He will be paid an annual salary of $140,000. However, the city will save $15,000 annually on his medical benefits package as he will not receive health insurance from Waukesha.

Henschel said he is humbled by the appointment and that public administration’s goal is to provide high quality services at the lowest cost.

“That is going to be our mantra and our goal,” Henschel said.

Community Development Director Steve Crandell has been operating as interim city administrator since Lori Luther’s departure in August 2011. Luther left to become a county administrator in Illinois.

The chance for the city to hire someone of Henschel’s experience with the added financial benefits almost seemed “too good to be true,” explained Joan Francoeur, chair of the Human Resources Committee.,

However, expectations are high as the council believes Henschel's the perfect fit to move Waueksha forward.

The city is providing a $500 monthly reimbursement for the cost of a Medicare supplemental health insurance policy. However, health care premiums would otherwise cost the city $2,000 each month.

Additional savings to the city come because Henschel already lives in Waukesha. The city will not have to pay relocation expenses, said Francoeur, or additional city administrator search firm fees.