Dave Simpson Named Muskego Director of Public Works

The creation of a Department of Public Works and the appointment of current city engineer Dave Simpson to the role of its director were separate resolution items at the Common Council meeting Tuesday night, and each was received differently by members of the council.

The department's restructuring will place Simpson as the Director and City Engineer.  Debate centered on how efficient adding a director would be, especially in light of recent staff eliminations.

"I'm not in favor of adding a director," said Alderman Dan Soltysiak. "I think it's not efficient government, and incurs more costs."

Alderman Neil Borgman agreed, stating, "we just laid off two inspectors because we said there wasn't enough work for them to do, and now we're adding a director."

However, Alderman Noah Fiedler said the position reflected the role that Simpson had already been performing over the past few years, and that he was happy with how things have been run.

The council voted 4-3 to approve the new structure, but a unanimous vote came shortly after on the resolution to appoint Simpson to the position.

"Even though I was not in favor of a director's position, now that it has been passed, I feel that (Dave Simpson) will do very well in it," said Soltysiak.

"He's shown us to be smarter than we really are," agreed Fiedler.

"He is the qualified person for this position, and I support him," echoed Alderman Keith Werner.

According to Simpson, the essential structural change is that one person "will now be officially responsible for oversight and management of the Engineering Division, Utilities Division (Sanitary Sewer & Drinking Water), and Operations Division (Plowing, Street Maintenance, Drainage, Leaf Pickup, etc.).  This will allow for more efficient coordination and planning efforts as well as a central contact person for the Department of Public Works. Previously, these functions fell into three different departments."