By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
December 19, 2020

Whitewater City Manager Cameron Clapper has chosen to withdraw from consideration for a similar position in Fort Atkinson.

“I have decided that the time is not right for me to be leaving Whitewater,” said Clapper.  “I believe that there is still work for me to do here.”

Clapper told ‘The Banner’ on Saturday that after having completed the first stage of interviews for the Fort Atkinson position he has decided that he has work to finish here and that he was happy here. “I was very impressed with what I saw and heard of the (Fort Atkinson) community but have decided to stay in Whitewater,” he added. Fort Atkinson has yet to make any formal announcement of their preferred candidate.

Clapper has served as Whitewater’s city manager since 2012. Prior to that he served as interim city manager for four months upon the resignation of city manager Kevin Brunner. Before that Clapper had worked as Whitewater’s Assistant City Manager for two years.

The City of Fort Atkinson announced on December 11 the names of finalists for their City Manager position. Clapper was one of the four that had moved to the top of the City’s list of candidates. Fort Atkinson’s population is 12,368, compared with Whitewater’s 15,035 but has more full-year residents because of UW-Whitewater’s effect on population totals. Fort Atkinson’s operating budget for 2021 is approximately $11,063,000 while Whitewater’s is approximately $9,641,000. The key factors in determining compensation for a city manager are generally the size of the budget to be managed and the number of employees.