The Hollowed Workforce: Crew Brief
Date: 2026-10 (reworked 2026-10-26)
Summary: A research brief on how Sheboygan's city workforce has changed, with the public sources behind each fact.
The question we are asking
Has the City of Sheboygan shifted work away from its own frontline crews (mowing, fixing, collecting, maintaining) and toward contracts and outside vendors, while public safety grew? This is our working idea, not a finding. The research below is meant to test it.
What the public record shows
- Cities cannot require employees to live in town. Wis. Stat. § 66.0502 bars Wisconsin municipalities from requiring employees to live within their borders. Police, fire and emergency staff can be required to live within 15 miles. The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the law in Milwaukee Police Association v. City of Milwaukee, 2016 WI 47. Sources: Wis. Stat. § 66.0502; 2016 WI 47.
- The 2026 budget added five general fund positions. City Administrator Casey Bradley's budget presentation lists one code enforcement officer, one communications specialist and three police officers (50% grant funded). Source: City of Sheboygan 2026 Annual Budget presentation, Sept 15, 2025.
- The 2026 table of organization went to the council on Dec 15, 2025. Report 33-25-26 was submitted by the Interim HR and Labor Relations Director/City Attorney, Liz Majerus. Source: Dec 15, 2025 Common Council agenda. Next step: get the report itself and compare position counts with prior years.
- Public safety is the largest new capital line. The 2026 budget overview lists $20,354,400 for Public Safety Campus construction. The 2026-2030 capital plan lists $39.96 million for the campus over 2026 and 2027, plus $8.27 million for police expansion and $8.53 million for the Station 2 rebuild. The August 2026 design development estimate for the whole complex is $54,475,543. Sources: 2026 Final Proposed Budget Overview; 2026-2030 Draft Capital Plan summary; Licensing, Hearings and Public Safety Committee packet, Aug 2026.
- Vollrath Park disc golf concession. After the long-running operator's contract ended in 2024, the city issued RFP #2072-25. It got one proposal, from Riverside Disc Golf, and the council approved a three-year agreement in June 2025. Parks Superintendent Joe Kerlin presented it to the Public Works Committee. A new RFP for the same concession was posted in January 2026. Sources: Board of Marina, Parks & Forestry packet with RFP #2072-25; Sheboygan Press, June 13, 2025; Seehafer News, June 18, 2025.
Leads still to source
These came up in earlier notes. Each one stays off the public page until a primary source is linked.
- Residential garbage and recycling contract history (Waste Management, then GFL).
- Whether any in-house legal position was replaced with outside counsel.
- Whether a housing specialist role was turned into code enforcement.
- Marina finances and operations from the May 5, 2026 Board of Marina, Parks & Forestry meeting (use the minutes and video).
- Marina cumulative losses and design fees paid to outside firms.
Research assignments
- Positions by department over time. Use the adopted budgets' tables of organization for 2006, 2016 and 2026. Count frontline positions against administrative ones in DPW, Parks & Forestry and Facilities. Sources: the city's Financial Reports page and December Finance and Personnel packets.
- Contract spending over time. Outside counsel, consulting and engineering, and refuse contract values for the same years.
- Public safety share over time. Police and fire positions and budget share for 2006, 2016 and 2026.
- Parks staffing. Maintenance crew sizes, in-house versus contracted mowing, and seasonal staffing.
- Where employees live. This may need a records request. Flag it and wait for Mike's call before filing.
Rules
- Label every figure as documented, reported, inferred or estimate.
- Primary sources only: budgets, tables of organization, minutes and resolutions.
- No claims about anyone's motives.
- Nothing is published and nobody is contacted without Mike's call.