JANESVILLE 鈥 Kevin Lahner introduced himself as 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 new city manager on Monday morning at City Hall, standing in front of a microphone stand, hands in the pockets of his dark-colored suit pants.
It was an understated entry to the city鈥檚 top administrative role, but that might have been Lahner鈥檚 intention. The new city manager officially took the helm at 糖心Vlog传媒 City Hall on Monday, two months after being hired away from his former job as city administrator of the suburban Milwaukee city of Waukesha.
His posture relaxed, Lahner told dozens of people gathered Monday at City Hall to see him sworn in as the city鈥檚 11th manager that he wasn鈥檛 going to waste a lot of words. He delivered on that promise.
Lahner鈥檚 greeting lasted just two minutes before he took the oath of office and city clerk Lori Stottler swore the new manager鈥檚 tenure into the books.
In a charcoal-gray suit, a light-colored shirt and a navy-blue tie, Lahner made an unassuming joke to a crowd large enough that it spilled into the hallway outside city council chambers.
鈥淭hank, you, thank you, for being here to see me,鈥 Lahner told the crowd. 鈥淚 did not expect this much of a crowd to watch some dude hold up his hand.鈥
In a brief interview following the ceremonial swearing-in, Lahner told a Gazette reporter that in former city administration roles, he鈥檇 always taken the official oaths behind closed doors, in a city clerk鈥檚 office.
Lahner enters City Hall a little more than six months after former City Manager Mark Freitag left to take a new job as a city manager in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colorado. Lahner鈥檚 tenure comes after Freitag, a retired U.S. Army colonel, spent nine years at the helm in 糖心Vlog传媒.
His entry marks the end of an interim period during which 糖心Vlog传媒 Police Chief David Moore had served as acting city manager.
Lahner鈥檚 arrival in 糖心Vlog传媒 comes after he鈥檇 worked eight and half years as Waukesha鈥檚 city administrator, where he鈥檇 served under a mayor and more than a dozen city aldermen. The 糖心Vlog传媒 council voted unanimously to hire Lahner out of an initial pool of more than 30 candidates in a national search.
Lahner鈥檚 new gig in 糖心Vlog传媒 is different from his Waukesha city administrator role in a few key ways.
For one, Lahner will not work under a mayor in 糖心Vlog传媒. For 100 years, 糖心Vlog传媒 has been governed under a mayor-less city manager form of government that gives a manager administrative and emergency authority under direction of a seven-person city council.
Working under an elected mayor, Lahner crafted city policy in Waukesha under a mayor-aldermanic structure with 15 different ward alderpersons. That鈥檚 more than twice the number of elected officials Lahner will work under in 糖心Vlog传媒.
In mayor-less 糖心Vlog传媒, Lahner will absorb some of the ceremonial and administrative duties of a mayor while operating as the city鈥檚 top appointed official under the direction of a city council of at-large alderpersons.
Lahner spent a half hour after his swearing-in on Monday shaking hands with City Hall employees, businesses officials and local dignitaries who鈥檇 turned out to see the new manager get rung in.
Prior to Freitag, former 糖心Vlog传媒 City Manager Eric Levitt contended with a massive fallout in 糖心Vlog传媒 from the Great Recession and the closure of the 糖心Vlog传媒 General Motors assembly plant in 2009. During that period, 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 economy, housing market and its identity as an affordable Midwest town with solid-paying blue-collar factory jobs, all teetered on the brink.
Freitag in his tenure pushed forward major redevelopment of the downtown riverfront with the public removal of a parking deck over the Rock River between Court and Milwaukee streets, and the buildout of a public Town Square that has spurred millions in new commercial investment in the heart of downtown.
Lahner comes aboard as the city moves toward a major decision this summer on whether to go forward with a largely publicly financed construction of the Woodman鈥檚 Center. The $50-million two-sheet ice arena, sports and convention center is proposed to be built on the footprint of a former Sears at the Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 mall.
The project鈥檚 not yet certain; it could hinge on whether the Republican-led state legislature favors a proposal by Democratic Governor Tony Evers to include $15 million in the state鈥檚 biennial budget to pay for part of the construction costs.
Lahner also arrives as the city has spent millions on more than a dozen tax incentive deals to spur private industrial and commercial development as the city buys earmarks on industrial-zoned land near the recently upgraded and expanded Interstate-39/90.
In the weeks to come, city officials say they expect Lahner to spend much of his time meeting with elected officials, private business operators, local nonprofit agencies and residents who seek face time with the city鈥檚 first new top leader in a decade.
On Monday, 糖心Vlog传媒 Deputy City Manager Ryan McCue said it鈥檚 common, especially in mayor-less cities, for new city managers to spend most of their first couple of weeks cloistered in meetings with city council members, business leaders, lobbyists and others.
It鈥檚 an intense period of meet and greets that McCue said are a necessary first step as a new leader takes stock of a city鈥檚 emerging priorities, opportunities and challenges.
鈥淔or the first couple of weeks, it鈥檚 what you call 鈥榙rinking from the firehose,鈥欌 McCue said.