WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — There’s nothing like diving into a public health emergency in your first week on the job as the new County Administrator.
Lance Leonhard says his first ten days as full-time Administrator have featured one challenge after another, but thanks to the staff around him they have managed to remain flexible.
“We are learning a lot from this situation,” he said. “Just in terms of telework, deploying the requisite resources we need has been a challenge but we have been up to that task.”
Part of that comes from the city and county IT staff who ordered, configured, and issued as many as 45 laptops so employees would have the resources to work from home.
“We have a great team here, from all of our elected officials to all of our organization. I can’t say enough about how all of our staff has stepped up and responded to the challenge that’s in front of us. I’m truly humbled to be the Administrator for this organization.”
He says the spread of COVID-19 is something that his staff was focused on early in the process. His staff had several discussions with employees regarding travel, both personally and for work, and what that could mean to the spread of the virus. Additionally, even though the county is exempt from the Governor’s safer at home order, many staffers have chosen to work remotely.
“We recognize it’s important to model the same behavior that we are hoping the public displays. We made changes to our business model, and how we deliver services.”
That includes restricting access to the Courthouse in downtown Wausau and encouraging residents to call or email as much as possible if they need service. Leonhard says many of the services provided by courthouse staff can be handled electronically without compromising quality.
“If we need to have someone come into our buildings, we are going to make sure we model appropriate social distancing. We have also made changes to our custodial practices to make sure we disinfect those high-touched surfaces as frequently as possible,” he added.
Leonhard joined News Director Mike Leischer via Skype for this week’s feature. As the interview was being recorded, Leonhard noted that he was the only person working in the administration office that day. Everyone else was working from home.
Marathon County’s Executive Committee recommended Leonhard as the full-time Administrator on March 10th. The full board approved the hire on March 19th. He had been serving as the interim Administrator since January 1st when Brad Karger retired from the position.
Other topics Leonhard and Leischner discussed include:
Start of video- County’s handling of COVID-19 situation.
9:40- Qualifications he brings to the job
11:30- Goals for his first year in office
14:14- Potential fiscal impact of COVID-19 on the county budget
16:00- Top issues facing Marathon County in the next 5-10 years besides COVID-19