Utility operator appointed to interim administrator

Instead of trying their luck with outside applicants, Abbotsford’s elected officials decided Monday to appoint a longtime city employee to the position of interim city administrator. Josh Soyk, the city’s utility supervisor, will take the administrator position as soon as current administrator Dan leaves his job on Friday. Administrative assistant Erin Clausnitzer was also appointed clerk-treasurer. The vote to promote Soyk and Clausnitzer was made following a closed session that included city attorney Bill Gamoke at the start of Monday’s meeting.

The decision represents a 180-degree turn for the council, which voted 5-2 just a week and a half earlier to get rid of the city administrator position and go back to having a clerk-treasurer. It also alleviates a time crunch for finding Grady’s replacement, as the city can dispense with advertising an open position and interviewing applicants.

When it came time to approve an ordinance to get rid of the administrator position, the council voted 8-0 Monday to disapprove of the ordinance, rendering it null and void.

Soyk will serve as interim administrator until at least Jan. 1, 2022, according to a motion after the closed session. Soyk will continue to earn his normal wage, $30 per hour, and so will Clausnizter, at $17 per hour. Grady has been making $35 per hour.

In some ways, Soyk has already been groomed for the position, as Grady taught him how to do payroll and also showed him how to handle all of the accounts in the city’s CIVICS accounting system.

Soyk first started working in the city’s water department in 2009, and for the last several years, he has been overseeing both the water and sewer utilities. He will continue to supervise those departments Toward the end of Monday’s meeting, council members discussed hiring a new operator for the water department. Regardless of whether he stays in his new position or not, Soyk said a new water operator is needed to handle the city’s 26 wells.

“To put our water system in perspective, we have more wells than Wausau, Colby, Dorchester, Medford and Spencer — combined,” he said. “And, we’re adding more.”

Abbotsford has had a city administrator since 2018, when the council passed an ordinance to create the position and give the administrator the statutory duties of the clerk-treasurer. Grady was hired shortly after that.

At that time, Clausnitzer had been hired as a full-time administrative assistant and Louella Luedtke was serving as deputy clerk-treasurer. As the city’s new clerk-treasurer, Clausnitzer will be in charge of overseeing elections, collecting taxes and issuing permits.

Soyk will handle the presentation of the city’s proposed budget to the city council, which usually takes place around this time of year.

Mayor Jim Weix, when contacted by phone after Monday’s meeting, said the decision to appoint Soyk was made to avoid the “turmoil” that has come with past transitions at city hall.

“We gave him four months to decide if he wants it,” he said. “If it doesn’t work out, we can always look for outside candidates.”