New City Administrator Could Be Hired Tuesday

Waukesha continues to move forward in its city administrator search with the final steps going before the Waukesha Common Council.

The council will interview in closed session Tuesday night during its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Henschel, a Waukesha resident, was identified as the sole candidate in the second round of the city administrator search.

The council will interview Henschel in closed session, but it will deliberate in open session about appointing Henschel to the post, the agenda states.

Henschel has served as village manager in Elm Grove and Whitefish Bay. He 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.

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 search for a new city administrator took a stumble in June when and

The Waukesha Common Council earlier this summer approved a contract with Illinois-based Voorhees and Associates to restart the search.

“As a Waukesha resident, I have an exceptional interest in the success of the city as a vibrant community and to see it develop as a best practice community in Wisconsin, with a high level of service at an affordable cost to taxpayers,” Henschel said in his cover letter to Voorhees. “Since the city just completed an unsuccessful recruitment for city administrator, I have decided to offer my services and expertise to the city.”