OSHKOSH, Wis. — Officer Kate Mann has spent the last 16 years of her career working in Oshkosh.
She said her decision to stay comes down to two main factors.
“The community is great. They’re really supportive of law enforcement and anytime there is a need within the city they jump at the chance to help,” Mann said. “That’s really what keeps me here in Oshkosh, the great department I work for plus the great community in which we serve.”
She started her career working patrol and, in the last five years, has been the department’s crime prevention and community affairs officer.
“It’s definitely a change of pace from patrol,” Mann said about her current role. “I love it because I get to work interact with all sorts of different people within the community — from kids all the way up to business owners and seniors. I get a nice variety of interactions with them.”
The Oshkosh Police Department is looking to fill five or six patrol positions as well as several other positions. Those openings are part of a range of jobs open with the City of Oshkosh.
“It’s a mix of positions. You never know at any given time how many positions will be open. Right now there are approximately 10 positions open,” said Andy Radig, the city’s communications coordinator. “The positions are in a variety of areas in everything from public works to the fire department and police department and everything in between. Some are part time and some are full time.”
Openings include jobs like an activities coordinator for seniors, to a water construction worker and a street equipment operator.
Radig has worked for the city for more than 20 years.
“I feel that there’s a little bit more on our shoulders as municipal employees in that we’re working for our friends and neighbors,” he said. “We’re also trying to be careful to good stewards of the tax dollars and the resources we have available.”
Mann said the best part of her day is making a difference to other. That difference can be either big or small.
“If I can help somebody throughout the day, I think that’s a job well done,” she said. “That looks very different from patrol to my current position, but I really like getting out there and talking to people about what scams and frauds are and how we can do crime prevention to stop that crime before it even happens.”
A link to careers with the City of Oshkosh can be found here.