May 13, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA Wis. – The Viroqua Common Council officially hired Public Administration Associates on Tuesday May 12 to lead the search for the next city administrator.
The city was forced to launch an executive search after Administrator Nate Torres recently announced his resignation to take the administrative coordinator position for Vernon County. Torres has served as the top city official since 2019 overseeing a period of massive infrastructure expansion and economic development. During previous meetings the council opted to hire a professional recruitment firm rather than conduct an in house search to ensure they attract a wide pool of candidates capable of maintaining the city current momentum.
Mayor Krista Browne and Torres spent the last few weeks interviewing three recruitment agencies. Browne reported that one firm MGT was quickly eliminated after quoting a price of more than $20,000 dollars. The remaining two firms Innovative Public Advisors and Public Administration Associates both offered identical flat fee proposals of $15,750 dollars.
While both firms offered comparable timelines of roughly 14 and a half weeks Browne recommended the council hire PAA. She noted that PAA has been operating since 1998 and maintains a deep roster of over 1,500 candidates.
“I think because of where we are at with projects transitions and knowing how many things are in process I recommend that we go with PAA,” said Browne. “PAA might just have a deeper understanding of things we are not yet aware of.”
City Clerk and Treasurer Lori Polhamus cautioned the council about some of the additional services PAA offered in their proposal. Polhamus suggested the firm should not spend time rewriting the city ordinance that outlines the administrator duties.
“I do not think it is necessary where I do not even think this firm would even need to go through into that deep dive because that is more of a policy than it is in an ordinance,” said Polhamus. “I think that they could spend their time better suited on other things to maybe shorten that timeframe.”
Polhamus also warned the council to carefully review any employment contracts drafted by the firm noting that the city labor attorneys heavily redlined a previous employment agreement drafted during a separate process.
Alderperson Kyle Bartelt asked if the city should attempt to recruit a candidate using local staff to save the $15,750 dollar fee. However Alderperson Todd Spaeth argued that relying on an outside firm would alleviate the burden on Torres as he attempts to wrap up major summer projects before his departure in June.
“I think a lot of Nate’s time would be spent dealing with that versus more important things that he needs to get focus on during the rest of his time here,” said Spaeth. “So I fully agree with the hiring outside firm.”
The council voted unanimously to approve the service agreement with PAA contingent on a final review by the city attorney.
To pay for the recruitment service Torres proposed splitting the cost between the general fund and the utility departments. Because the city administrator dedicates 40 percent of their time to utility management Torres explained that roughly $6,000 dollars of the fee will be drawn from utility funds. The remaining roughly $10,000 dollars will be pulled from unbudgeted investment revenue the city generated during the first quarter of the year.
“I do not think we are in a position this year based on the first quarter financials where we can try to pull that money out of any of the departments at this point,” said Torres. “Is it a worthwhile use, especially if we are only doing this once every seven to 10 years.”
With the firm selected the council mapped out the hiring process and finalized the members of the local search committee.
The firm will begin by interviewing department heads to understand the needs of the city before publishing the job posting. After an initial round of video screenings the firm will select three to five finalists to bring to Viroqua for a two day assessment. The assessment center will include a public meet and greet a tour of the city and formal interviews.
The city established a seven member hiring team to conduct the initial interviews alongside the recruitment firm. The committee includes Mayor Browne, Council President Steve Willis, Alderperson Cyndy Hubbard, and Alderperson Tanja Birke. Representing the city staff will be Public Works Director Sarah Grainger and Fire Chief Chad Buros. The council also designated former Mayor Justin Running to serve as the required public member at large on the committee.
Once the search committee narrows the field the entire common council will conduct the final interviews in a closed session to select the next city administrator.
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