The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department filled two vacant posts Thursday, the same day a detective’s sudden resignation created another.
Greg Trinko, a patrol sergeant with the department, was named jail administrator, effective April 13. The position has been vacant since mid-January when Steve Borroughs suddenly resigned.
Shawano Police Officer Kurt Kitzman was named patrol lieutenant. He will start his duties on April 2.
Trinko was one of 19 applicants for the administrator job, out of which seven were interviewed by a five-member panel.
“The panel agreed he did an outstanding job in the interviews,” Sheriff Adam Bieber said. “He has some good ideas for moving things forward.”
Trinko has been with the department for 25 years and started out as a jailer. He made an unsuccessful run for sheriff in 2006.
Bieber said Trinko has some outside management history that added to his qualifications.
“He and his wife run a retirement home, so he has some familiarity with laws and statutes regarding people you house,” he said.
Bieber said everyone on the panel agreed Trinko would be a great fit for the jail.
In addition to Bieber, panel members included department Office Manager Kathy Sumnicht, Lt. George Lenzner, county Public Safety Committee member and Supervisor Richard Ferfecki and Waupaca County Chief Deputy Al Kraeger.
Bieber said Trinko’s salary was still being set, but the job has a salary range of $59,592 to $61,013.
The salary range for Kitzman’s patrol lieutenant position is $49,647 to $56,745.
Kitzman was chosen for the lieutenant post from a field of six applicants. He was one of three interviewed, along with two current deputies.
Kitzman started with the Shawano Police Department in 2003; the same year Bieber started there before taking over as sheriff this year.
Trinko’s and Kitzman’s appointments came the same day that Detective Wade Wudtke tendered his resignation.
Bieber said Wudtke’s letter did not give a reason for the resignation, which was effective immediately. He said the resignation was unexpected.
Wudtke has been with the department since 1999.
Clintonville Police Chief Terry Lorge confirmed Friday that Wudtke has taken a job with that department as a patrol officer. Saturday is his first day on the job.
The starting salary for a Clintonville patrol officer is $23,073. Wudtke was last making $26.69 an hour in Shawano County.
Bieber said the department won’t move too quickly to replace Wudtke.
He said the position might undergo some changes, though it would remain a detective post.
“We may make it more of a juvenile officer position,” he said. “We would change the focus to juvenile crime and prevention.”
In the meantime, other officers would take Wudtke’s open cases.
“We’ll move forward and continue to operate seamlessly,” Bieber said.
Wudtke would still be required to appear in court if needed to testify in any pending cases he has worked.
Bieber said Wudtke’s position would be posted internally, and it’s expected someone would be promoted from within the department.
With Trinko’s move to the jail, two patrol deputy positions would need to be filled in the near future, Bieber said.
Kitzman’s move to the sheriff’s department also means another vacancy for Shawano police.
The Police Department recently filled one vacancy, and two other posts are still open, including a newly created detective lieutenant’s position.
Police Chief Mark Kohl said two people have been offered the jobs and background checks are being done. However, he said, Kitzman’s vacancy would probably be filled before the detective is named.
Kohl said the additional vacancy is not a problem because the department has been compiling an eligibility list from previous interviews.
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