Rohloff passes City Manager baton to Grill following 16 years of service

Out with the old, in with the new. On December 23, 2024, the Oshkosh Common Council appointed Rebecca Grill as the new city manager, replacing outgoing City Manager Mark Rohloff. Rohloff retired on January 3, 2025, ending a career of 16 years of service to the city, and Grill will assume the position February 24. 

Grill got her start at Concordia University, where she received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science before going on to earn an MBA in finance. For the past nine to ten years, she worked as the city administrator for West Allis, following several years working various municipal jobs for the city of Milwaukee. This totals nearly 20 years of municipal community service.

The council began their search for Rohloff’s successor in August when they hired a firm to do a nationwide search. Starting with 38 possible hires, the council slowly whittled down the candidate pool to four, all of whom were interviewed in front of the council in November. 

Though the rigor and long timeline of the hiring process were shocking to some members of the community, Council Member D.J. Nichols notes that it was rather unremarkable.

 “It’s much like any other corporate interview, where a firm is hired to complete a nationwide search,” he said. “The process was not surprising.” 

Grill went into the process ready for what was to come.

“It wasn’t unexpected, the way the process worked nor the length of time,” she said.

The job description of the city manager is quite extensive, befitting of the upwards of $200,000 salary that was approved for Grill. Among other duties, the city manager plays a critical role in city administration.

“The City Council is the board of directors, and the City Manager is the CEO,” Nichols said.

Essentially, the city manager is responsible for carrying out the tasks assigned to them by the council.

One of the responsibilities of the manager lies in the ability to create a strategic plan, which helps city leaders assess and handle the major problems in the community. Grill sees stewardship of the city as central to her role as manager.

“People ask me what I do,” she said “I just say I do what needs to be done.”

Nichols knows that the council regularly assesses how effectively the manager’s tasks are being executed. 

“There is an annual review of the manager where they have to respond to how they did or didn’t meet goals set for them,” he said.

One major area consistently found for the managers to improve in is communication. Community member Mushe Subulwa believes that this is an area that could benefit from more attention.

“They are terrible at communicating,” he said. 

Community outreach is an area Grill specializes in. She conducted a successful rebranding campaign of West Allis, and humbly notes the improvements she saw during her time there. 

“When I started, there was a lot of negativity about the city, and a bad perception of it,” she said. “We went through a rebranding campaign which changed the view of people in and outside of the city.” 

Subulwa sees a similar picture of Oshkosh. Over the past few years, his confidence in the town has declined.

“The city needs to build trust with the community again,” he said.

Nichols concurs. He knows that the city needs to extend their information campaign beyond various social media posts, and find a new way to spread information.

“Something I think the new city manager will bring to the table is a proactive press strategy,” he said.

In addition to a new press strategy, Grill offers a new perspective on city development. 

“There's a lot of redevelopment and new development,” she said. “I continually see a great use of resources. Amenities like the Public Museum and the Paine, there’s so much potential in those buildings. The waterfront, too, of course.”

This is part of Grill’s long term vision for Oshkosh.

“My long term plan for Oshkosh is to make a desirable place for people to come to on a regular basis outside of EAA,” she said. 

This new vision will be great for the city, with a new view bringing a multitude of people from across the state to appreciate the city of Oshkosh. Mayor Matt Mugerauer has high hopes for Grill’s administration. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca Grill to the city of Oshkosh,” he said. “We are excited to have someone with her ability step into this important role. We are confident that Ms. Grill will lead our city with vision and dedication, and we look forward to Oshkosh's continued success under her leadership.”

by Isaac Considine-Buelow

Published February 3rd, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV