Oshkosh swears in Rebecca Grill as new city manager

Rebecca Grill was sworn in as city manager of the City of Oshkosh at the Common Council meeting on Feb. 25, 2025, taking the oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin” and to “faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of city manager.”

The ceremony came at the start of the council meeting and was followed by brief council remarks and introductions of newly promoted staff. The council asked the city clerk to administer the oath and Grill responded, “Yes, I will,” before signing the oath paperwork.

Why it matters: The city manager runs daily city operations and prepares the budget presented to the council. Grill’s arrival frames the next steps on multiple agenda items discussed at the meeting, including the biennial budget debate and short-term operational questions raised by council members.

Council members and staff used the meeting to introduce other personnel changes. Director Jim Collins introduced Dan Labuda as promoted electric traffic manager; the police chief introduced Brian Shoulders, promoted to assistant chief of police, and Captain Andy Lecker, newly assigned to the command staff. Each promoted employee offered brief remarks of thanks and commitment to their new roles.

Grill told the council she would review current processes during her first months on the job and asked for time to assess items such as the budget calendar and other administrative matters before recommending structural changes. She said she had already begun looking at the budget calendar and expected to work with staff and council on timing and process improvements.

The meeting proceeded to the rest of its agenda after the introductions and formal roll call.

Ending: Grill’s swearing-in sets an administrative backdrop for issues the council discussed later in the meeting, including budget timing, homelessness response coordination and other operational items.