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Record of Proceedings

Board of City Service Commissioners Meeting - May 5, 2026

Common Council — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyMilwaukee, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:05

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

My name is Frank Bach.

0:02

I serve as president of the Board of City Service Commissioners.

0:05

The first item on today's agenda is the call to order.

0:09

This May 5th meeting of the Board of City Service Commissioners is called to order.

0:17

The next item is the roll call.

0:20

Would the executive secretary please call the role?

0:35

All right, here we go.

0:36

Vice President Miller.

0:39

She's excused.

0:45

Commissioner Smith.

0:46

Present.

0:47

Commissioner Wicksborough.

0:49

Present.

0:50

President Bach.

0:52

Present.

0:52

Or present.

0:54

Thank you.

0:57

The next item, please.

1:00

Item number three, file number two six zero zero one four.

1:05

Communication for the approval of the April 21st, 2026 meeting minutes.

1:10

Do commissioners have any comments or questions concerning the proposed minutes?

1:16

No.

1:17

No.

1:18

I moved.

1:24

I second.

1:25

I heard her move.

1:28

I get it.

1:30

It's been moved and seconded.

1:33

To approve the proposed minutes of the April 21st meeting.

1:38

I'll pull the commissioners.

1:40

Commissioner Smith.

1:42

Yes.

1:43

Commissioner Cleary.

1:46

Yes.

1:46

Commissioner Wicksparl.

1:49

Yes.

1:50

The minutes are approved as submitted.

1:53

Next item, please.

1:54

Item number four, file number two fig zero zero one five.

1:58

Communication for the approval of the classification reports as submitted.

2:04

Good afternoon, Commissioners.

2:06

Sarah Sinsky of compensation services.

2:08

We have one report for you today.

2:10

This report is a market study for ball app positions within the Milwaukee Health Department and DPW Milwaukee Waterworks.

2:16

The analysis and recommendation process of this report includes a review of positions duties and responsibilities, impact and accountability relationship responsibilities, working additions, as well as minimum education and experience requirements.

2:30

In addition to the market study and examining the titles, there is the recommendation to retitle the virologist as a microbiologist and the virologist senior as a microbiologist senior.

2:40

Do you better reflect the duties and responsibilities being performed?

2:44

I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

3:14

Can you hear me?

3:16

Okay.

3:18

Thank you so much.

3:20

Yes, hello, uh, commissioners.

3:21

Uh my name is Ian Gunther.

3:23

You may not know me.

3:24

I'm I'm the president of Ask Me Local 47, um, City of Milwaukee Workers Union that represents um many members in water quality.

3:34

And um if I may, uh I have a letter from uh our members and water quality staff who would like to um they would like to communicate something to this commission regarding this um this item if if that's uh okay for me to do.

3:52

Uh yes it is okay great.

3:55

So uh and these are not my words, this is the words of um uh a number of uh members that have submitted some um responses here.

4:05

Um a while ago, um I think last month we held a meeting with uh in which Jackie Carter was a part of, um in which we submitted a uh a petition from water quality staff, uh in which all uh staff on water quality um supported uh proposing some changes to how market study uh how the result of the market study um for water quality.

4:31

So I'll go ahead and read this uh letter here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████86%
Procedural███████14%
Summary of Proceedings

Board of City Service Commissioners Meeting - May 5, 2026

The Board of City Service Commissioners (CSC) met virtually on May 5, 2026, at 1:30 PM, adjourning at 1:59 PM. Commissioners Bock (President), Smith, Cleary, and Wick Spoerl were present; Vice President Miller was excused. The meeting covered routine approvals of meeting minutes, classification reports, temporary appointments, probationary extensions, and a position re-exemption. Public testimony raised concerns about pay administration for Milwaukee Waterworks laboratory staff, leading to a discussion that separated the classification study from subsequent pay matrix decisions.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of April 21, 2026, meeting minutes – Approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Probationary Report(s) – Placed on file; no action required as no reclassified positions had probation recommendations.
  • Temporary appointment extension for Amber Graham (Program Assistant 1, DPW) – Extended for 7 months (May 10, 2026, through December 19, 2026). Approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Temporary appointment extension for LaShaunda Everett (Fleet Operations Manager, DPW) – Extended for 6 months (May 24, 2026, through November 24, 2026). Approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Probationary period extension for Carl Chopp (Administrative Services Manager, DOA) – Extended 3 months (April 29, 2026, through July 28, 2026). Approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Re-exemption of the Residential Property Disposition Manager position (DCD) – Approved unanimously (4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ian Gunther, President of AFSCME Local 47 (City of Milwaukee Workers Union), spoke on behalf of water quality section staff regarding the Laboratories Market Study (item 4). He read a letter detailing concerns about pay matrix placement for the 22 Milwaukee Waterworks laboratory employees. Key statistics cited: only 3 staff have over 20 years of experience, 14 have under 5 years (including 6 hired within the last year), and a 20% turnover rate. The letter requested a matrix placement formula: 1% credit per year of service (up to 15%), 1% credit for maintaining Wisconsin DNR certifications (up to 3%), and 1% credit for advanced degrees beyond minimum requirements (up to 2%). Examples of experienced staff (Shannon De La Cruz, Lindsay Gaziowski, Brian Minka) were provided to illustrate the need for recognizing senior expertise. The letter also highlighted the case of Jen Irby, who was excluded from a $10,000 raise when moving between sections, and recommended that all water treatment positions be evaluated together.

Discussion Items

  • Classification Report(s) – Laboratories Market Study (Item 4): Sarah Sinsky (Compensation Services) presented one report covering positions in the Milwaukee Health Department and DPW Milwaukee Waterworks laboratories. The report recommended retitling “Virologist” to “Microbiologist” and “Virologist Senior” to “Microbiologist Senior” to better reflect duties. After Mr. Gunther’s testimony, President Bock noted the letter was received only 45 minutes before the meeting, making it difficult to consider the complex pay administration issues. Lauri Rollings (Assistant City Attorney) clarified that the matrix placement is an administrative decision, not governed by CSC rules, and that delaying the classification report would push approval to fall due to an upcoming transition. Commissioners Smith, Cleary, and Bock agreed the classification report itself was sound and should be approved, while referring the matrix placement concerns to the Department of Employee Relations (DER) and Milwaukee Waterworks management for separate evaluation.

Key Outcomes

  • Classification Report approved (4-0). The Laboratories Market Study and title changes are adopted.
  • Matrix placement issues referred to DER and department management for review; no action by the CSC.
  • All other agenda items approved unanimously (4-0) as listed in the Consent Calendar.
  • Commissioner Smith’s announcement: Submitted a resignation letter to the mayor’s office but will remain on the commission until a successor is found. He recommended that future commissioners have legal or human resources backgrounds.

Meeting Transcript

My name is Frank Bach. I serve as president of the Board of City Service Commissioners. The first item on today's agenda is the call to order. This May 5th meeting of the Board of City Service Commissioners is called to order. The next item is the roll call. Would the executive secretary please call the role? All right, here we go. Vice President Miller. She's excused. Commissioner Smith. Present. Commissioner Wicksborough. Present. President Bach. Present. Or present. Thank you. The next item, please. Item number three, file number two six zero zero one four. Communication for the approval of the April 21st, 2026 meeting minutes. Do commissioners have any comments or questions concerning the proposed minutes? No. No. I moved. I second. I heard her move. I get it. It's been moved and seconded. To approve the proposed minutes of the April 21st meeting. I'll pull the commissioners. Commissioner Smith. Yes. Commissioner Cleary. Yes. Commissioner Wicksparl. Yes. The minutes are approved as submitted. Next item, please. Item number four, file number two fig zero zero one five. Communication for the approval of the classification reports as submitted. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Sarah Sinsky of compensation services. We have one report for you today. This report is a market study for ball app positions within the Milwaukee Health Department and DPW Milwaukee Waterworks. The analysis and recommendation process of this report includes a review of positions duties and responsibilities, impact and accountability relationship responsibilities, working additions, as well as minimum education and experience requirements. In addition to the market study and examining the titles, there is the recommendation to retitle the virologist as a microbiologist and the virologist senior as a microbiologist senior. Do you better reflect the duties and responsibilities being performed? I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Can you hear me? Okay.

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