Hegeman to step down as Oneida County highway commissioner

Oneida County highway commissioner Alex Hegeman will step down from his position effective March 13.

“I have made the decision to resign from my current position as Oneida County Highway Commissioner, effective 3/13/2026,” Hegeman wrote in a Feb. 13 email to members of the county’s public works committee. “This was a very difficult decision and was not made lightly, but after careful thought and discussion with my family, it is time for me to take on new challenges and opportunities.”

Hegeman thanked county officials and staff.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead our Highway Department for the last several years,” he wrote. “I feel that we have accomplished a lot in my time here. Thank you all for your support and I truly enjoyed my time working with all of you.” 

Hegeman gave no reason for his resignation, but it comes after a winter of missteps at the county highway department that were widely noticed across the state.

During the Thanksgiving travel period, county-plowed roads across Oneida County remained snow-covered well into the Friday after Thanksgiving, following a snowfall that totaled more than 7 inches in the Minocqua area. Snow-covered and icy roadways prompted widespread complaints from motorists traveling throughout the county, from Three Lakes to Minocqua to routes westward to Price County and southward toward Lincoln County.

Social media posters declared roadways in neighboring counties to be in good condition while lamenting the conditions in Oneida County.

At the time, Hegeman attributed the delayed clearing to a combination of circumstances.

“Several factors led to the winter maintenance issues that were experienced,” Hegeman told The Lakeland Times then. “On November 27, all the plow trucks were called out early. The truck on Hwy. 70 left the Minocqua shop at 4:20 a.m. and made two rounds plowing and salting, finishing up around 9 a.m. with nine tons of salt used.” 

Hegeman maintained that there was no remaining forecasted snow accumulation. The forecast aside, while the plowing may have wrapped up, the snow did not.

In addition, Hegeman said, disaster struck with the equipment. 

“We were experiencing some lake effect snow and we had hoped that the de-icing material used would have kept the road in decent shape,” he said. “During the second round of plowing, a hydraulic fitting broke on the underbody plow causing this plow to become inoperable.”

Hegeman said a mechanic left the Rhinelander shop around 8 a.m. to repair the broken hydraulic fitting on the underbody. However, complaints began to come in, and the highway commissioner said further action was taken.

“After receiving several complaints on the conditions of roads throughout Oneida County, all drivers were called out around 10:30 a.m. on November 28,” he said. “The Hwy. 70 truck left the Minocqua shop around 11:20 a.m. This truck made one round plowing and salting using seven tons of salt.”

Besides equipment failure, Hegeman said inexperience among staff played a role in the timing and effectiveness of the response.

“With many staff in the first or second year of their roles, the inexperience of our department showed over the long weekend, and proved there is still significant training required,” he said.

Hegeman said he was also keeping an eye on the county’s bottom line financially, and that was a factor in staff scheduling.

“The Oneida County Highway Department strives for the efficient use of all taxpayer dollars,” he said. 

At the time, county officials indicated the matter would be reviewed. In particular, supervisor Billy Fried, who represents the town of Minocqua on the county board and serves as chairman of the county’s executive committee, said the road conditions would be discussed with the department. 

“The criticism of the conditions over the past 24 hours has merit and not what we as elected officials expect, and we will work with committee and department to improve,” Fried said then. “There will be more challenges ahead as every snowfall brings different scenarios. … Safety is priority number 1, and understand that a holiday weekend is not a good time to have failures.”

County board chairman Scott Holewinski also said winter maintenance policies would be addressed in open session with a focus on traveler safety.

Ultimately, though, the county public works committee took no disciplinary action, and Hegeman said after the storm the department planned to improve communication, conduct storm debriefings, and update equipment as part of future response efforts. 

Internal discussions were already underway, he said, as the department worked to “provide a better level of service for all road users within our county.”

However, a second winter weather event during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period also raised concerns about response timing, as traffic compacted the accumulating snow before plowing operations began, creating icy conditions.

County supervisors have also grappled with the work schedules of highway employees, who operate on a four-day workweek. In recent weeks, the department conducted a review of the fiscal efficiency of a four-day work week, but those numbers have been questioned.

At a Feb. 5 highway committee meeting, supervisor Billy Fried expressed concern that some numbers might be missing, while county board chairman Scott Holewinski said the county’s finance director had provided information that was not included in the department’s report. According to the minutes of that meeting, Holewinski said he felt the committee should see those documents and study the issue more. 

He also said the department’s report was the opposite of what both the Oneida and Vilas County finance directors had told him. The matter was not on the agenda for the latest public works committee meeting on Feb. 19.

Hegeman’s resignation will take effect on March 13.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.