Former Oak Creek City Administrator Hired in Whitefish Bay

Former Oak Creek city administrator Pat DeGrave was named Whitefish Bay's village manager Monday. 

DeGrave worked in Oak Creek from 2006 until he was unceremoniously let go by the Common Council in January 2010, for reasons never made public. 

Since then, he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Concordia College and consulting.

The Whitefish Bay Village Board met in special session to approve DeGrave's contract, which includes an annual salary of $105,000. DeGrave is expected to start his new job May 2. 

“I’m thrilled,” DeGrave said in a telephone interview Monday night. “I think Whitefish Bay is a wonderful community, and I am looking forward to getting to know the community and its residents.”

In Oak Creek, DeGrave managed a government with 250 full-time employes and a $24 million general fund budget. The city's population is roughly 35,000, or about twice that of Whitefish Bay.

DeGrave's 32-year public sector career includes 16 years as a municipal administrator, from 1994 through 2010, and 16 years as a police officer and sergeant.

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