Waukesha council approves clerk appointment, staffing plan, kiosk fees and public-works contracts

Waukesha Common Council on March 4 unanimously approved the appointment of Katie Panella as city clerk and adopted several administrative and contract measures, while separately approving a downtown kiosk advertising policy 12–1.

The council met in closed session under Wisconsin Statutes §19.85(1)(c) to discuss the clerks appointment and then returned to open session to vote on the appointment and the specific terms of the offer. City Administrator Tony said Panella’s conditional offer includes two weeks of initial vacation, vacation accrual of 13.33 hours per month thereafter, and 8 hours of sick leave consistent with other employees. He said Panella’s annual salary is within the position’s grade and that no vehicle is included. Tony also told the council the offer requires Panella to complete the Waukesha County Technical College organizational leadership technical diploma (or an approved equivalent) at the city’s expense by Dec. 31, 2026, and said failure to obtain the diploma “could potentially result in termination.” The council approved the appointment unanimously.

Why it matters: the clerks position manages city records and meeting administration; the educational condition in the offer letter drew specific attention during the discussion and was folded into the appointment vote.

The council also adopted the annual B16 staffing resolution, which City Administrator Tony said sets maximum staffing by department. He reported total city staffing (excluding the water utility) falls from a little over 545 full-time equivalents in 2024 to 542 in 2025 after realignments within the library, parks and public-works departments. The staffing resolution passed unanimously.

On legislative business, the council approved an advertising policy and fee schedule for a downtown kiosk after the Finance Committee forwarded the item (it had passed committee 3–1). An alderman in support told colleagues the policy responds to requests from downtown business owners; the ordinance passed the council 12–1.

Public-works bids recommended by the Board of Public Works were approved without objection. The council accepted a low bid of $361,045 for the 2025 concrete sidewalk replacement project and awarded the Bethesda Court and Park Avenue utility and street improvements contract to Leilawn Contractors for $798,923.40. The Board also updated the council on the citywide cart-delivery program; Alex reported about 59% of new carts (about 22,000 of 37,000) have been delivered and that pickup of old carts is planned for the last two weeks of March.

The meeting also included routine reports from city boards and commissions and a roll-call approval of consent-agenda items. With no further business the council adjourned.

Quotes from the meeting: "So that pretty much covers the conditional offer that was signed by Ms. Panella," City Administrator Tony said when summarizing the appointment terms. "This item passed committee on a 3 to 1 vote," Alderson Piper said when introducing the kiosk advertising policy. "I've had a lot of requests from downtown business owners asking about advertising... I would highly encourage us to move forward with this as a way to recoup the costs from operating those kiosks," an alderman said in support.

Next steps: the awarded contracts will proceed to implementation under the usual public-works procurement schedule, the clerk will begin in accordance with the agreed terms, and staff will continue rollout and retrieval of carts as scheduled.