Milwaukee City Wire

Karen Dettmer is taking over as interim commissioner of the Department of Public Works. She has received praise and won numerous awards for her performance in prior jobs involving public service. 

Dettmer is set to succeed Jeff Polenske, who is retiring following nearly 31 years on the job. Incoming Mayor Cavalier Johnson consulted on the appointment while current Mayor Tom Barrett also praised the appointment. 

“I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Karen Dettmer as interim commissioner of @milwaukeedpw," Barrett said in a post to his Twitter account on Dec. 20. "This is a well-earned appointment. In every job she has held in city government, Karen has exceeded expectations by demonstrating leadership.”

Dettmer has worked for the city for nearly 15 years. She has served as the superintendent of Milwaukee Water Works starting in February 2019, and prior to that worked for the Department of Public Works and the Department of City Development. Prior to working for the city, Dettmer worked as an engineering consultant in the private sector. When she worked as the superintendent for Milwaukee Water Work, Dettmer oversaw the biggest public utility in the state and supervised over 350 state employees.

While being led by Dettmer, Milwaukee Water Works won the inaugural award given by the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s 2021 Salute to Local Government for "Effort to Advance Racial Equity" for the department’s collaboration with the U.S. Water Alliance to promote a more equitable, inclusive and diverse workforce in the water industry. In 2019, Dettmer received the Ally Award from Milwaukee Pride in honor of her promotion of the Rainbow Crosswalks Initiative, the city’s first permanent monument for the LGBTQ+ community.

The biggest division of the Department of Public Works is Infrastructure, which supervises design, construction and maintenance of all Milwaukee infrastructure, such as streets, bridges, traffics signals and sewers.