Community ‘felt like home’ to DeTroye

By John Faucher

David DeTroye was hired as the new village administrator, the Hortonville Village Board announced in a news release Friday, Sept. 21.

DeTroye began working for the village on Thursday, Sept. 20.

DeTroye received his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in May 2015.

His local government experience includes a six month internship with the city of Sheboygan and one year as the assistant to the administrator in Delafield.

In addition to his experience in local government, DeTroye has more than 17 years of private employment experience, has entrepreneurial experience and has operated his own business.

DeTroye said he excited to bring his experience to the community of Hortonville.

“It felt like home, and there is a plethora of opportunities that exist to compliment a fine village with great schools, parks, and housing,” DeTroye said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get to work.”

The announcement of DeTroye’s hiring followed a 10-week search process led by Interim Village Administrator Russ Van Gompel, a senior account executive for Integrated Public Resources.

Village board members approved contracting with IPR and hired Van Gompel at the board’s June 21 meeting, after accepting the resignation of former administrator Diane Wessel.

Wessel accepted an administrator position with the village of Bellevue where she began her duties on July 9.

On Sept. 5, the village narrowed down the search to three candidates and invited them to a community meet and greet at the opera house. DeTroye and two finalists, Zach Navin and Drake Daily, presented themselves to the community and answered questions.

The three candidates returned for tours of the village and a day of interviews with the board and staff members.

“David stood above the other candidates with his presentation skills, education, and his ability to connect to a small full-service community like Hortonville. I feel David will be a good fit for the Village of Hortonville,” Van Gompel said in a statement.

Van Gompel will stay on staff for approximately 40 hours to help DeTroye transition into his new role.

Village President Al Habeck said in a statement: “With David’s education and previous experience the board and I feel that he will be able to keep the village moving forward. We look forward to working with David and welcome him to our community.”