City Service Commissioners approve routine personnel actions, lay over discharge appeal to Feb. 25

The Board of City Service Commissioners on Feb. 11 approved a slate of routine personnel actions, including temporary appointment extensions, a reinstatement, a probationary-period extension and two position exemptions, and it laid over a discharge-appeal matter to the commission’s Feb. 25 meeting while the parties finalize a likely settlement.

The actions affect employees across multiple city departments: Milwaukee Water Works, the Department of Public Works, Milwaukee Public Library and the Milwaukee Health Department. Commissioners Miller, Smith and Cleary recorded “yes” votes on each action as read into the record by the executive secretary; no recorded “no,” abstain or recused votes were recorded in the transcript.

Commission business began with approval of the Jan. 28, 2025 meeting minutes (file 241,624). The board then approved temporary appointment extensions requested by Milwaukee Water Works for Michael Watts (file 241,625), extended 8 weeks retroactive to Feb. 2, 2025, and Zachary Zapkowski (file 241,626), extended three months from Feb. 16 through May 24, 2025, both cited as responses to increased winter workloads and water-main breaks. The board also approved a six-month extension for David Espinosa (file 241,627) in the Department of Public Works’ sanitation services division, to run Feb. 16 through Aug. 15, 2025; staff materials said Espinosa is filling in for an employee who was on temporary appointment and that…