Oshkosh mayor proposes changing title to council president to align ‘with the actual job’
The resolution didn't appear to be met with much opposition, although one council member suggested it be sent to referendum.
Justin MarvilleOSHKOSH ― One council member wants to get rid of the position of mayor.
And it’s the mayor himself.
Less than one year on the job, Oshkosh Mayor Matt Mugerauer is proposing to change the title to “council president” to reflect the post’s lack of executive powers.
Mugerauer put forward the resolution during Tuesday’s Common Council meeting at City Hall with the hopes of eventually having the position selected by the council and not voted on by the electorate.
“It’s really about aligning the title with the actual job because, right now, for most, when they hear the term mayor it brings forth the ideas of elected chief executive and that this person is the one running the show,” said Mugerauer in a separate interview with the Oshkosh Northwestern.
“It’s a ceremonial figurehead because our mayor is not empowered and in charge, that would be our city manager, Mark Rohloff.
“The biggest role (of mayor) is just to effectively run a meeting and not much beyond that, so this is really a council president and every other council-manager form of government in the state of Wisconsin runs it that way,” he said.
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Oshkosh has used a council-manager form of government since the mid 1950s.
Since the mid 1950s, Oshkosh has used a council-manager form of government under Chapter 64 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, where the city hires a full-time paid manager to serve as an administrator and run its day-to-day operations.
According to Chapter 64, the president of the council is the highest elected official, although the city may designate the title of mayor to that official.
Through a referendum in 2004, the Oshkosh public then voted for having an elected mayor, who would serve two-year terms even as the position serves more as a figurehead rather than an administrator.
Under Mugerauer’s proposal, though, the electorate would still get the chance to vote for seven council members, but the council would then choose their president from among that group.
“The current form of government should be maintained, as it is the best form of government, in my opinion, because we’ve got a professional city manager who’s highly trained and effective in the role and is nonpartisan,” said Mugerauer. “It doesn’t bend with the wind, and local government is best when it's stable, so that’s why I am a huge believer in our current form of government.
“But it’s literally changing from mayor to council president,” he added. “The electorate still gets to choose seven council members, like they do now, but then we say this person is our best leader for this term and we put them in that position, just like we do our deputy mayor right now.”
One council member would rather educate the public than change the mayor's title.
The resolution didn’t appear to be met with much opposition, although council member Karl Buelow thought it better to simply educate the public rather than to change the position’s “vernacular.”
While in favor of the proposal, council member Paul Esslinger wasn’t comfortable forgoing a referendum in favor of the decision being made at the council level, stating “I don’t want seven people to decide what the form of government is for 70,000 people.”
Mugerauer tabled the resolution to be further debated at a future council meeting.
“After our discussion tonight, which I was very appreciative of the questions and dialogue, more information is needed, which is a good thing because I want to make sure the council members themselves are informed and educated and comfortable,” said Mugerauer.
“But then it’s really up to council, and we have options. We can choose to make a decision at our council level and basically make it effective in 60 days from that point.
“We could ask for a referendum, that’s an option, but I don’t think it needs to be a referendum to make this small change to a title because, really, it’s about organizational alignment as there is no additional nor removal of powers or responsibilities,” he added.
Mugerauer was first elected to council in 2018.
A lifelong resident of Oshkosh, Mugerauer was first elected to council in 2018 before regaining his seat in 2020 and 2022.
He then took over the mayor role from outgoing mayor Lori Palmeri, who is serving in Madison as the representative of the 54th Assembly District, when he beat Aaron Wojciechowski in last year’s mayoral election.
Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.