Board moving ahead in manager search

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees set the timeline for hiring a new manager while also approving an extended contract for the interim manager.

A new manager could be in place by the end of summer.

“This search is the most important thing a board can do,” Ryan Cotton of the search firm MGT told the Laketown board on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Cotton led the first round of searches that began in 2024 and will continue guiding the process of advertising, researching and vetting candidates. Costs are included in the original contract that extends until a manager is hired, though advertising and mileage costs will be billed.

After finalists for the manager position declined offers in January, the board put the search on hold while members received training on the manager-council form of government from an outside firm and learned to better work together.

On Wednesday, the board unanimously agreed to begin advertising the full-time manager position with a salary and incentive compensation range of $115,000 to $135,000 not including benefits.

Highlights from the new hiring timeline include:

June 14: Advertisement posted online, deadline July 3.

July 7: Special board meeting in closed session to review candidate submissions.

July 14: Interviews and selection of finalists at special board meeting.

July 21: Tours, second interviews and conditional offer made at special meeting.

Aug. 11-25: Tentative start date for new manager.

As the hiring process continues, board Supervisor Steven Ringelberg will remain interim manager. He has been serving as interim manager since December and began getting a paycheck for the role in January.

The board on Wednesday unanimously approved a contract extension through Oct. 31 with an annual salary of $119,600 with a biweekly salary of $4,600.

Ringelberg’s original agreement to serve as interim manager was set to expire June 30.

Board members thanked Ringelberg for his work as interim manager.

“We’re thankful Steve has stepped up and he’s doing a great job,” said Trustee Mark Timmerman.

Ringelberg listed accomplishments in his report to the board, noting new staff hires, an initiative to improve recycling, starting a trial run of bus service from the Interurban Transit Authority based in Douglas that in May saw 754 rides to and from the township, increased police patrols, and a moratorium on short-term rentals while data is gathered for possible revisions to the township regulations.