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West Bend common council swears in four aldermen, elects council president and confirms appointments
Summary
At its April 15 meeting the West Bend common council swore in aldermen for Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8, elected John Butchlich as council president and approved committee chairs, a city comptroller and the Washington County Daily News as the official city newspaper.
The Common Council of West Bend City met Monday, April 15, 2025, where it swore in newly elected aldermen for Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8, elected Council President John Butchlich and approved a slate of committee chairs and administrative appointments.
The council administered the oath of office to Rhett Engelking as District 2 alderman, Matthew (Matt) Sternig as District 4 alderman, John Spartz as District 6 alderman and Aaron Zingzaim as District 8 alderman. After a nomination from Alderman Matthew Sternig, Council Member John Butchlich accepted the nomination for council president, saying, "Yes. I do." The council then approved Butchlich as council president by voice vote.
Why it matters: the organizational actions set leadership and committee assignments that will steer council agendas and oversight for the coming term. The council also fulfilled statutory duties the mayor cited as required by Wisconsin state statutes for certain appointments.
Most of the meeting focused on organizational business. The council appointed John Butchlich as chair of the Board of Public Works and Matthew (Matt) Sternig as chair of the Finance Committee; both bodies are composed of all council members and the chairs will preside over those committee meetings. The council approved the mayor's appointment of Carrie Winkelbauer as city comptroller; the mayor noted that appointment of a comptroller and designation of an official city newspaper are required by state statute. The council designated the Washington County Daily News as the city's official newspaper.
The council also adopted a resolution "designating public depositories and authorizing withdrawal of city money," which was provided in the meeting packet. The mayor offered to read the list of banks but, after a motion to suspend the reading, the council accepted the resolution as presented in the packet.
For the plan commission, the mayor recommended and the council approved appointment of Alderman Matthew Sternig and Alderman Sparks to serve on the commission. The council then approved a larger slate of appointments to boards, committees and commissions; the mayor noted only two changes from the prior assignments, placing Alderman Rhett Engelking on the bid board and the tourism commission in place of Alderman Allen.
The mayor told council members the search firm for an unspecified city position had been asked for the number of applicants and that the council expects to meet in closed session the week of May 19, 2025, to review applicants. The mayor said the likely dates under consideration are Tuesday, May 20, or Thursday, May 22, and asked members to flag any major conflicts. The council confirmed its next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 21, 2025.
Votes and approvals at the meeting were conducted by voice vote; meeting minutes record the motions as carried but do not list roll-call tallies in the transcript.
The meeting opened with the mayor stating the meeting notice had been posted more than 24 hours in advance in accordance with Wisconsin state statutes and closed after routine adjournment.
