City to hire assistant utilities manager

CLINTONVILLE – Instead of filling a foreman vacancy that Clintonville Utilities has, the Clintonville Common Council approved creating an assistant utilities manager position as part of a succession plan for when Dave Tichinel, current utilities manager, retires in the future.
Approval for creating the assistant utilities manager position came at the council’s April 14 meeting.
The topic was discussed at the April 13 Clintonville Finance & Personnel Committee meeting. At the meeting, Clintonville City Administrator Caz Muske told the committee that the city forwarded the job description for an assistant utilities manager position to the consulting firm who conducted the compensation study for the city a few years ago. The consulting firm helped place the position within the city’s compensation structure.
Muske told the committee that Tichinel would be retiring from his position in 5-7 years.
“We are looking to create a continuity of operation by preparing somebody to replace him,” Muske said.

Tichinel said he was not looking to increase the city’s budget. He added that if an assistant utilities manager were to be hired, Tichinel said the department would not hire a foreman, which the department is currently without.
“The foreman’s pay and the utilities manager’s pay would combine to where it wouldn’t kill our budget,” Tichinel said. “And this person would be the foreman most of the time but would be transitioning and learning my job in the next five years.”
Committee member Darrell Hansen asked Tichinel if he had someone in mind for the assistant utilities manager position.
Tichinel said he does have an internal candidate in mind but added that he would follow the city’s personnel manual for making the hire.