McBain era to close
Administrator will retire at end of June
A chapter in Marathon County government will come to a close at the end of June.
Administrator Mort McBain announced Monday he will retire.
“Words cannot adequately express my feelings as I prepare to leave public service after 21 years with Marathon County, but I will always be grateful for the privilege of serving our community,” he said.
McBain said he did not quite understand his role as administrator until faced with a crisis in 1996 about locating an eight-bed group home for juveniles with drug and alcohol problems on Main Street in Marathon City.
The administrator said he knew little about the county Social Services Department’s plans to put the home in Marathon, but, at the suggestion of department head Dale Van Mieghem, he attended a public meeting held at the Marathon High School auditorium.
“The place was packed,” he said. “And people were real angry.”
McBain said he quickly came to learn that county board supervisors come from real communities which, when they have to, can exercise real muscle and go head to head with the county.
The administrator said he found himself locked in a furious battle with Marathon supervisor Keith Langenhahn.
McBain said he understood Marathon officials would use every legal maneuver to block use of the group home but he couldn’t expect the private agency who had already purchased the home to simply take a loss.
“So, I decided just to sell the darn home,” he said. “Keith Langenhahn agreed to purchase the house out of his own pocket for $92,000. And we signed an agreement we would never put a group home in Marathon School District.”
McBain said the group home “fiasco” had a “huge impact” on his understanding of county government.
The administrator, who once leaned towards having a smaller board, became an enthusiastic supporter of the current 38-member county board, understanding that each supervisor was the voice of one community or another across Marathon County.
“I really like the system we have here in Marathon County,” the administrator reflected. “We have a large elected board and an appointed administrator. The people in Marathon County are well represented.”
McBain said it was not long after buying the group home that Keith Langenhahn became county board chairman, a position he holds to this day.
The retiring administrator said the two of them worked well together because they never withheld information from each other.
“Early on, we had a discussion as a leadership team,” he said. “We agreed that we would always communicate and trust each other. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t talk to one another.”
McBain said that while the average Wisconsin county administrator lasts five and one-half years, he has managed to hang on for over two decades.
His annual salary is $105,860.
In retirement, McBain said he will stay in central Wisconsin and continue work as bishop for a local Morman church.
“I have served two years, three months as bishop,” he said. “It’s been great. I really enjoy it and I am looking forward to doing more of that.”
County board chairman Keith Langenhahn said McBain had a distinguished career as county administrator and was recognized statewide.
“He accomplished a lot of good things for the county,” he said. “Most things he did came right from the heart. He wasn’t looking for a big name for himself.”
Langenhahn agreed that the group home face-off with McBain was a key moment for both men.
He said resolution of the conflict paved the way for the two of them to work as a team.
“In government, there isn’t room for grudges,” said Langenhahn.