WI Deputy Chief Will Hold Interim Role

Oct. 04 -- JANESVILLE, WI -- The Janesville Police and Fire Commission selected Deputy Fire Chief Jim Ponkauskas to serve as the department’s acting chief starting in January.

Fire Chief Randy Banker will continue in his role until his retirement, slated for Jan. 11.

The commission held a meeting Wednesday to determine Banker’s successor. It announced Ponkauskas as the choice after a brief closed session.

Banker recommended Ponkauskas for the position, Commission Chairman DuWayne Severson said after the Wednesday meeting. Ponkauskas is one of two deputy fire chiefs, along with Bill Ruchti.

The commission wants to minimize the time between Banker’s departure and the hiring of a permanent successor. That will require an aggressive recruitment and hiring timeline.

A tentative schedule provided by city Human Resources Director Sue Musick shows applications will be due Friday, Nov. 16. A first round of interviews will take place throughout November and December, followed by another round in January.

A hiring consultant, likely an entity called GovHR, will conduct in-depth reviews once the commission narrows the applicant field to a group of finalists.

The new chief could begin sometime in March, according to the loose timeline.

Janesville is posting the job on a handful of government job and trade publication websites. It plans to conduct an internal and external search, Severson said.

Banker has recently spent time guiding the Milton Fire Department, which he oversees through an intergovernmental agreement, as it considers building a new fire station. He will continue doing that work during his final few months on the job, Severson said.

Solutions to Milton’s fire department infrastructure have been slow coming, partly because three municipalities—city of Janesville, city of Milton and town of Milton—are involved.

Severson did not believe a chief transition would further complicate the issue, saying Ponkauskas could handle it smoothly if the matter is not resolved before Banker leaves. The commission did not discuss any sort of pay raise for Ponkauskas as acting chief.

Also Wednesday, the commission dismissed a complaint from former firefighter Donald “Jeff” Bowen. Bowen had filed a lawsuit in July, arguing the commission used an improper procedure to dismiss an earlier complaint he made against Banker.

Both sides reached a mutual decision to dismiss the complaint, Severson said.

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