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Hello, here at the City of Port Washington we are passionate about creating the premier community on the Great Lakes. Approximately 80 full-time employees, and up to hundreds of seasonal employees, work diligently to provide exceptional service to our residents and visitors.

The City of Port Washington operates within a mayor-council form of government, which means that the City Administrator is the chief operating officer of the City and is responsible for the overall administration of all City activities and services, primarily overseeing day-to-day operations. The City Administrator works in close partnership with the Mayor and City Council, who are responsible for setting the policy direction of the City.

On portwashingtonwi.gov, you will find a wealth of information about our City and the services we provide. I always like to hear from you, so please feel free to e-mail me with any comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Melissa Pingel, City Administrator
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Mission Statement

The Department of Administration mission is that of the City, which is to be a welcoming destination for living, working, and visiting that capitalizes on our strengths, provides quality services, and empowers diverse community engagement.

Programs/Service Lines

Council business
Budget Preparation and Management
Personnel Management
Development/Planning
Organizational Management, Analysis and Strategic Planning
Human Resources

Strategic Plan - Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)

General Fund, Fund Balance Percentage -
- Maintain a minimum of 20 percent of the subsequent year's General Fund operating budget as a working capital reserve amount.
Percentage of Fiscal Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Projects Completed and within Budget -
- Complete 80 percent of CIP Projects within the fiscal year they are funded and on/below budget.
Percentage of Full-time City employees who are Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Retirement Eligible; Total Cost of WRS Retirement Eligible Employees Accrual Payouts Upon Retirement; and Percentage of Employee Retirement Accrual Payouts Funded.
- Develop and implement a sustainable funding strategy to cash finance at least 50 percent of retirement-related payouts to minimize any disruption to service provisions.

Divisions Within Department

Human Resources

2023 Achievements

Increase the City’s communication capacity. – Staff completed a communications audit in partnership with Mueller Communications. The findings covered several areas including communications planning, visual branding, adopting a multi-channel approach, refining messaging, enhancing internal communications, and providing employee training. The overarching suggestion is to establish a robust foundation by putting in place precise communication policies, procedures, and protocols, with an emphasis on employee training. This involves the creation of a content calendar and a social media strategy. The goal is to accomplish most of the foundational work by the end of the year and develop a strategy to meet the ongoing internal and external support needs of the city.
Efforts to enhance needed public safety service provisions explored.
- Fire/EMS Staffing – Administration and the Fire Department worked together collaboratively to recommend an emergency medical service (EMS) staffing approach for the city. This was prompted by discussions over the past several years about challenges faced by the Port Washington Fire Department (PWFD). The issues identified includes the projected increase in EMS calls by 500 to 1,500 annually over the next decade due to call trends, development growth, and an aging population. The 2021 Wisconsin Policy Forum First Response report highlighted a staffing crisis in fire departments across Ozaukee County, including PWFD, which has traditionally relied on part-time volunteers. The recommended proposal outlined a hybrid staffing model as the sustainable option with a combination of part-time individuals and 11 full-time equivalent positions. This approach aims to provide dependable and high-quality fire and EMS services to the Port Washington community.
- Non-Emergency Lift Assist Services – The Fire Department call volume data revealed a significant number of non-emergency lift assist calls, which limit the availability of ambulances and staff for life-threatening emergencies. As part of a larger community risk reduction approach the Common Council adopted a non-emergency lift assist service. This includes imposing reasonable fee on certain facilities and private ambulance providers to recover the costs associated with non-emergency lift assist responses. Implementing such a fee is intended to encourage education to reduce inappropriate calls for emergency services, increase community awareness regarding ambulance usage for emergencies only, and encourage the exploration of alternative non-emergency care options. With non-emergency lift assists identified and given priority, there will be supplementary initiatives to collaborate with external partners, e.g., assisted living facility, nursing care facility, private ambulance provider and Aging and Disability Resources Center of Ozaukee County (ADRC). These endeavors will focus on educating individuals and facilities and connecting them with referral services to provide necessary assistance.
- Joint Public Safety Facility – Collaborating with elected and appointed officials, the Police and Fire Chief, and other staff, the necessity for a joint facility for the police and fire departments was identified. This is part of an effort to continuously deliver efficient and effective services now and into the future. The initial step in achieving this objective involved each department visiting facilities of other departments. This allowed for the creation of a needs list based on these visits and the current facilities. Subsequently, Bray Architects was engaged through a request for qualifications process to complete Phase 1, which encompasses conceptual design. More specifically, it includes a facilities assessment report, space programming/needs analysis, site assessment, solution exploration, site analysis, and budgeting services. The completion of Phase 1 is projected for early 2024.
Successfully onboarded senior leadership positions to support the city’s needs. – This year, the city welcomed the Recreation Director and Finance Director to its team. These individuals were fortunately recruited from well-respected municipalities and bring with them several years of relevant experience. Their contributions have been substantial, as they have already identified opportunities to explore and, in other cases, already put in place. Also, they have forged meaningful relationships with community stakeholders and have seamlessly integrated into the organizational culture. At present, the entire Senior Leadership Team is on board, placing the City in an even stronger position due to the current composition of the team.
Facilitating conditions for continued economic development for the city’s future growth.
- Schanen Farm – Working with the Director of Planning and Development a request for proposals was released. Since the sewer service rights were designated to the City it provides the opportunity to move forward with development on the 40-acre site. The intention is to determine the best course of action to develop this site in the next couple of years. Conservatively estimated, the complete development of this specific site has the potential to generate at least $30 million in value.
- Southside of City – Staff has actively engaged with major property owners to understand their envisioned land use concepts. Concurrently, a preliminary assessment was conducted to determine the expenses associated with the installation of utility services, a pivotal step in preparing the area for development. Conservatively estimated, the complete development of this specific City area has the potential to generate at least $225 million in value. For this upcoming year, 2024, the capital budget includes an allocation to cover the costs of executing all the necessary engineering design tasks. This approach underscores the City's commitment to strategic and well-informed development planning.
Municipal Code review was completed.
Utility connections were enhanced and upgraded.
A parking study related to the downtown area was conducted and presented for consideration.

2024 Goals

Port Washington, WI

November 2024 Newsletter

2025 Proposed City Budget

October 2024 Newsletter

Administration

Mission Statement

Programs/Service Lines

Strategic Plan - Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)

Divisions Within Department