By Press Times Staff
ASHWAUBENON – Fair Market Assessments, the assessor for the village and other municipalities in the area, has joined Ashwaubenon officials to speak in support of Village Manager Allison Swanson following a vote of no confidence by the public safety officers’ union.
In a Feb. 11 letter sent to Village President Mary Kardoskee from Mike and Paul Denor, owners of Fair Market Assessments, they said Swanson “has been great to work with since she was appointed as village manager.”
“As you know, we have frequent interactions with Allison both on current and future developments within the village,” the village assessor said. “She has been financially conscious and assiduous in her manner and has always put the village’s best interest first.”
The Denors further stated Swanson “will always be held in our highest regard as one of the top managers for the communities we serve.”
“We have been pleased and impressed with Allison’s work ethic, knowledge and constant efforts in making Ashwaubenon a great place to live,” they said.
Village Attorney Tony Wachewicz, Acting Public Safety Chief Randy Tews, Director of Public Works Doug Martin, Director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Rex Mehlberg, Clerk-Treasurer Patrick Moynihan Jr., Community Development Director Aaron Schuette and Director of Finance Greg Wenholz signed onto their own statement issued the afternoon before a special village board meeting Feb. 11 to state their support for Swanson and dispute a statement the union made about her having “not allowed department heads of any village department to fully function in their positions.”
The board met for more than two hours in closed session before issuing its own statement “to state and express its full confidence in Village Manager Swanson.”
Those statements of support followed the Ashwaubenon Public Safety Officers’ Association (APSOA) announcing Feb. 6 its membership issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in Swanson.
The union, which released a list of 22 complaints it has about Swanson, stated “not a single employee in the association feels that Village Manager Swanson is capable of managing the Village of Ashwaubenon.”
The APSOA has filed multiple grievances now pending against the village, and it blames Swanson for her handling of those matters.
Swanson has also been named in a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 14 by a former village public safety lieutenant, Steve Schermitzler.