59.18 County administrator.

(1) Appointment. Counties having a population of less than 750,000 may by resolution of the board or by petition and referendum create the office of county administrator. The county administrator shall be appointed by majority vote of the board. Such petition and election shall follow the procedure provided in s. 9.20 (1) to (6). If any member of the board is appointed as county administrator, his or her status as a member of the board is thereby terminated, except that in the case of a vacancy in the office of county administrator by reason of removal, resignation or other cause, the board may appoint any member of the board as acting county administrator to serve for a period of 15 days while the board is considering the selection of a county administrator.

(2) Duties and powers. The county administrator shall be the chief administrative officer of the county. The county administrator shall take care that every county ordinance and state or federal law is observed, enforced and administered within his or her county if the ordinance or law is subject to enforcement by the county administrator or any other person supervised by the county administrator. The duties and powers of the county administrator shall be, without limitation because of enumeration, to:

(a) Coordinate and direct all administrative and management functions of the county government not otherwise vested by law in boards or commissions, or in other elected officers.

(b) Appoint and supervise the heads of all departments of the county except those elected by the people and except where the statutes provide that the appointment shall be made by elected officers; but the county administrator shall also appoint and supervise all department heads where the law provides that the appointment shall be made by a board or commission, by the chairperson of the county board or by the county board. Notwithstanding any statutory provision that a board or commission supervise the administration of a department, the department head shall supervise the administration of the department and the board or commission shall perform any advisory or policy-making function authorized by statute. Any appointment by the county administrator under this paragraph requires the confirmation of the county board unless the board, by ordinance, elects to waive confirmation or unless the appointment is made under a civil service system competitive examination procedure established under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63. Any department head appointed by a county administrator under this paragraph may be removed at the pleasure of the county administrator unless the department head is appointed under a civil service system competitive examination procedure established under s. 59.52 (8) or ch. 63.

(c) Appoint the members of all boards and commissions where the statutes provide that such appointment shall be made by the county board or by the chairperson of the county board. All appointments to boards and commissions by the county administrator shall be subject to the confirmation of the county board.

(3) Administrative secretary to county administrator; staff. The county administrator may appoint an administrative secretary, and additional staff assistants, as necessary.

(4) Compensation of county administrator and staff. The board shall fix the compensation of the county administrator, the county administrator's administrative secretary and the county administrator's staff assistants.

(5) Message to the board; submission of annual budget. The county administrator shall annually, and otherwise as necessary, communicate to the board the condition of the county, and recommend such matters to the board for its consideration as the county administrator considers expedient. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the county administrator shall be responsible for the submission of the annual budget to the board.

(6) Qualifications for appointment. The county administrator shall be appointed solely on merit. In appointing the county administrator, the board shall give due regard to training, experience, administrative ability and general qualifications and fitness for performing the duties of the office, and no person shall be eligible to the office of county administrator, who is not by training, experience, ability and efficiency qualified and generally fit to perform the duties of such office. No weight or consideration shall be given by the board to residence, to nationality, or to political or religious affiliations.

(7) Removal. The board may remove the county administrator at any time that the county administrator's conduct of the county administration becomes unsatisfactory, and engage a successor. The action of the board in removing the county administrator shall be final.

(8) Vacancy, how filled. A vacancy in the office of the county administrator by reason of removal, resignation or other cause, shall be filled by appointment by majority vote of the board.

History: 1983 a. 192 ss. 118, 303 (2); 1985 a. 29, 176; 1989 a. 273; 1991 a. 316; 1995 a. 201 s. 102; Stats. 1995 s. 59.18; 2017 a. 207 s. 5.

A county board can abolish the office of county administrator by majority vote. 61 Atty. Gen. 322.

Sub. (2) (b) transfers the authority to supervise the administration of county departments from boards and commissions to department heads appointed by the county administrator. Sub. (2) therefore entirely negates s. 59.70 (2) insofar as it provides that the board may “employ" a system manager. In a county with a county administrator, the solid waste management board is purely an advisory body to the county administrator and to the county board and a policy-making body for the solid waste management department as a whole. OAG 1-12.