CROSS PLAINS–Like most public and private sector employers, the Village of Cross Plains is dealing with an increasingly costly and tight labor market.
Replacing a program coordinator in the Parks and Recreational Department drew few applicants, including one with little job experience but insisted getting paid at the top of the salary range and five weeks’ vacation.
“I don’t even get five weeks’ vacation, and I’ve been here 16 years,” Mike Axon, Parks and Recreation director, told the village board last month.
The board told him to widen the candidate search area to include Illinois in hopes of getting an applicant who will work for what the village pays.
Village President Jay Lengfeld acknowledged that it’s a buyers’ market for job candidates as municipal positions can go unfilled or have become more expensive to staff.
