New Village Manager Has a Busy First Week

Patrick DeGrave said first week was full of absorbing information and meeting new people.

Whitefish Bay has been without a village manager for about five months, so new hire Patrick DeGrave said he is ready to hit the ground running. DeGrave, whose first day was May 2, said he had a busy first week meeting new people and digesting all of the new information. He said it may be a while before he gets over the learning curve, but the gears are already turning on how to approach some of the issues facing the village. “I really on day one started hitting the ground as the manager while trying to fill in all of the other things that become the learning curve,” he said. While it may take a while to get up to speed on local issues, his 16 years as a municipal administrator have given him a familiarity with Wisconsin government, the …

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Village Spillage

Trustees Focused on Village Manager Search, Sewer Issues

The Whitefish Bay Village Board has been meeting often, interviewing Village Manager candidates and discussing sewers.

The Trustees have been putting in lots of hours lately, meeting four of the last five days.   Most of the time has been spent interviewing Village Manager candidates. From a personal perspective, while my wife wasn't pleased with being a single mom this past week, the process was one of the most satisfying issues I've been a part of during my term on the Village Board. I believe we had several home-run applicants, and I'm honestly excited for one of them to take the helm.  The "big" news at the regular meeting came from our sewer consultants, Donohue, who explained their report would be delayed until late fall. There are no residents more discouraged than the seven Trustees with this result.  The explanation, which I will simplify, is that…

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Lyle Ruble

12:40 pm on Thursday, March 24, 2011

Bob, good choice, your neighbors won't even notice, just make it look historically correct. Brick faced tar paper is authentic.   more ›

Village Spillage

Village Manager Search Narrowed to Five Candidates

The Village Board narrowed the pool down to five candidates last week. Here's the list, plus a few of each applicants' highlights.

The Village Board narrowed the pool down to five candidates last week.  Here's the list, plus a few of each applicants' highlights, listed in alphabetical order: I think this is a solid field, with individuals who have a good range of experience and education.  Next week, these candidates will be brought in for two days of final interviews and selection.  --- Looks like I underestimated the school district's budget deficit when I guessed it would be $1.5 million. It's worse: $2.06 million, which is around 7 percent of last year's budget, before any inflation is figured in. (Even 1 percent inflation factor increases the budget by $330,000.) The contract with the teachers' union expires at the end of this school year.   Apparently SB11, …

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Kevin Buckley

8:29 am on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Doh! Fixed. Uh, due to budget cutbacks, my fact checker was laid off...?   more ›

Village Spillage

Police Consolidation, Village Manager Search, Election Update

Would consolidating police departments weaken the "local character" of Whitefish Bay?

Just a few items from this past week. Firstly, Shorewood's police chief gave a presentation on the idea of merging the Whitefish Bay and Shorewood police departments.   The highlights are: From a personal level, I'm interested in this prospect. I've heard folks suggest that combining forces with Shorewood gives up some of the local character of Whitefish Bay. Truth is, we've been combining with other municipalities for years. Our fire departments are shared. Our water and sewage systems. Our health departments. Our 911 dispatch.    I'm asking: Would a squad car with, for example, "North Shore PD" rather than "Whitefish Bay PD" be a big deal to you? -- This week, the Trustees heard the results of our Whitefish Bay Village Manager job …

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Bob McBride

11:40 am on Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Thanks David I wasn't aware of that difference between the two. While I like the idea of the station being open all night (and I assume that's something the folks from Shorewood would rather not give up), obviously there's a cost involved in that that will have to be taken into consideration as well. I'm definitely still for taking a look at it.   more ›

Village Spillage

Hello, Patch.

Village Spillage on Patch. Village Manager hiring process; Teen trustee Write-in; Emerald Ash Borer program.

(Editor's Note: I am pleased to announce Kevin Buckley, a local resident, blogger and Village Trustee, has joined us as a columnist. He has written about local issues on his own blog, Village Spillage, since 2007, so his perspective on village affairs will be an asset to the website. As on his blog, the opinions expressed in this column do not represent the official position of the board.) I started writing Village Spillage about four years ago to help fill the local news void.  After the Whitefish Bay Herald folded into the Journal-Sentinel/NOW family, the amount of news coverage dwindled to a handful of Whitefish Bay stories each month. As a trustee, I saw it firsthand, as the NOW reporters attended perhaps one meeting every few months…

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