City Service Commission approves routine personnel reclassifications, temporary appointment extensions and discharge findings

The Board of City Service Commissioners approved a package of routine personnel actions at its June 3 meeting in Milwaukee, including two job retitles, extensions of three temporary appointments and the adoption of findings in two employee discharge appeals.

The actions matter because they affect staffing and personnel oversight across municipal departments — particularly the Election Commission, Public Works sanitation operations and the municipal court — and set administrative precedents for how long temporary appointments will be extended in advance of major operational cycles.

The board approved two classification report recommendations presented by Andrea Knickerbocker of the Department of Employee Relations. Knickerbocker said there were two reports for consideration: retitling an Election Commission post from “election operations and training manager” to “election operations manager” after the department added a separate training position, and renaming a Municipal Court position from “court accounting assistant senior” to “accounting coordinator” because the role now carries additional responsibilities delegated from the court business manager. Commissioners voted to approve the reclassifications as submitted.

The board also handled three temporary appointment extension requests. The Department of Public Works’ Infrastructure Services Division requested a second six-month extension for Ron Robinson’s temporary appointment as a city laborer, covering 06/22/2025 through 12/20/2025, to allow completion of the hiring process and make the hire permanent. The request was approved.

The Election Commission asked to extend a temporary program assistant appointment for Cassandra Thornton (materials in the packet also referenced a resume under a similar spelling). The department’s executive director, Paulina Gutierrez, explained the extension was tied to a management transition and system upgrades ahead of the 2026 election cycle. Several commissioners said their general practice had been to limit temporary extensions to 12 months. The commission amended the Election Commission’s request (originally for 16 months from 08/25/2025 to 12/31/2026) to 12 months and approved the amended extension, with the board asking the department to return if additional time is required.

The board approved a third three-month extension for Jermaine Lawson’s temporary appointment as Sanitation Inspector I, from 06/03/2025 through 08/24/2025. Danielle Rodriguez, director of operations, had submitted a letter explaining the position’s code enforcement duties related to garbage and recycling ordinances; standard temporary-appointment paperwork and Lawson’s resume were included in the packet.

On two disciplinary appeals, the commission voted to adopt the city attorney’s findings and conclusions in the discharge appeals of Jeffrey Daca and Jesse Tatum. The board moved and seconded approval of those findings and adopted them as submitted.

Procedural votes on the May 20 meeting minutes and an administrative note that no new probationary periods were required for the reclassified positions were also approved during the meeting. President Frank Bach opened the meeting and introduced new Commissioner Heidi Wicksborough, who was sworn in and welcomed by colleagues. Executive Secretary Donahue closed the meeting after routine announcements and an adjournment motion.

Votes at a glance - Approval of May 20, 2025 minutes — Approved (recorded responses: Commissioner Miller: yes; Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Cleary: yes). - Classification report approvals (Election Commission and Municipal Court retitles) — Approved (recorded responses: Commissioner Miller: yes; Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Cleary: yes; Commissioner Wicksborough: yes). - Extension: Ron Robinson, temporary city laborer, 6 months (06/22/2025–12/20/2025) — Approved (recorded responses: Commissioner Miller: yes; Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Cleary: yes; Commissioner Wicksborough: yes). - Extension (amended): Cassandra Thornton, temporary program assistant, amended from 16 months to 12 months (08/25/2025 start; exact end date not specified in amendment) — Approved as amended (recorded responses: Commissioner Miller: yes; Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Cleary: yes; Commissioner Wicksborough: yes). - Extension: Jermaine Lawson, Sanitation Inspector I, 3 months (06/03/2025–08/24/2025) — Approved (recorded responses: Commissioner Miller: yes; Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Cleary: yes; Commissioner Wicksborough: yes). - Findings and conclusions: discharge appeal of Jeffrey Daca — Approved (adopted as submitted). - Findings and conclusions: discharge appeal of Jesse Tatum — Approved (adopted as submitted).

The meeting record and packet materials supplied letters from Kevin Muse, city engineer (Ron Robinson extension), Paulina Gutierrez, executive director of the Election Commission (temporary program assistant extension), and Danielle Rodriguez, director of operations (Jermaine Lawson extension). Several items required no further commission action — for example, the reclassifications did not trigger new or extended probationary periods because incumbents were already performing the duties.

The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting was not specified on the record during the discussion.

(Reporting here is based on the board’s meeting transcript of June 3, 2025; quotes and attributions are taken from that record.)