(Juneau) Dodge County leaders have narrowed the field of candidates in their search for the next administrator. Current Administrator Jim Mielke is set to retire next Wednesday after serving in the role since 2008. To facilitate the search for his replacement, the county hired Public Administration Associates in March. Monday, four finalists for the position were named.
Rebecca Bell has been the Dodge County Human Services and Health director since 2016. She was also a deputy program director at the Fond du Lac County Department of Community Program and a psychiatric social worker for Fond du Lac County from 2006 to 2008. Bell began her career as an adult/child protective services and crises intervention social worker for Waushara County’s Department of Human Services in 1997. She is a licensed clinic social worker and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Cameron Clapper has been the Whitewater City Manager since 2012. He also served the village of Waunakee as a management/analyst/deputy clerk and as village administrator from 2005 to 2010. He earned both a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a Master’s in Public Administration from Brigham Young University.
Daryl DeDeker is currently an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Prior, he was the University’s controller from 2008 to 2015. From 1998 to 2008, he was the chief financial officer for Portage County. Before that, DeDeker was the director of finance and administration for Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. He has prior service experience as a supervisor on the Portage County Board. DeDeker is a licensed certified public accountant and holds a Doctorate in Sustainable Education from UW – Stevens Point, a Master’s in Business Administration from UW – Oshkosh and a Bachelor’s in Accounting from UW – Stevens Point.
Scott Feldt has been the county administrator in Kewaunee County since 2015. He was the deputy state treasurer for four years and the director of economic development for the city of East Moline, Illinois from 2008 to 2010. Feldt has served on both the Janesville School Board and Rock County Board of Supervisors. He earned both a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Dodge County Board Chairman Dave Frohling says he is pleased with the quality of the 16 candidates that applied. He says the county read the resume’s and watched video interviews that Public Administration Associates conducted, then narrowed the field to the four candidates. He says each one could do the job.
The four candidates will go through a two-day assessment process on June 6th and 7th. Frohling says the Executive Committee will then recommend a candidate which the full county board will vote on at their June meeting. He says it is their goal to have whoever is hired begin on August 1st.
To bridge the gap between Mielke’s last day and the new hire’s start date, the county approved bringing on an interim administrator. The Public Administration Associates’ Jon Hochkammer was selected. Frohling says Hochkammer will help the county through this transition and will stay on-board until August 1st. He adds there could be a week or two overlap depending on the experience of the individual hired.
