Prairie du Sac DPW Wins National Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2025

Contact: Alan R. Wildman, II, Village Administrator

608-643-2421

Prairie du Sac DPW Wins National Award

Troy Murphy, director of public works for 9 years, achieves recognition for multiple roles at municipal utility

PRAIRIE DU SAC WI — Village of Prairie du Sac Director of Public Works Troy Murphy recently received an honor among public power leaders during the American Public Power Association’s National Conference. The Larry Hobart Seven Hats award, aptly named to recognize managers of small public power utilities who wear many “hats,” was awarded to Murphy during the final day of the conference.

“It’s nice to be seen for all that I do, but it’s important to remember that I’m not the only one on this small staff taking on a lot of roles,” Murphy said. “Our village and utility staff are honest and loyal workers who care about making sure we have a great place to live, work and play.”

Murphy began his career with the village in 1997 as an apprentice line technician. Over his tenure, the utility implemented new advanced metering infrastructure, or “smart meters.” It also converted streetlights to LEDs and completed a microgrid study at the Sauk Prairie police station. Murphy became the director of public works in 2016. Since then, the utility has only grown under his leadership. The village has made significant upgrades to the system, increasing redundancy and reliability.

All these projects are key examples of how Murphy, as an award recipient, plays a pivotal role in foreseeing what is needed for the future of the utility and oversees work both in Village Hall and out in the field. The seven hats award requires that managers have leadership roles in planning and design, administration, public relations, field supervision, accounting, human resources and community leadership.

Murphy dedicates his time locally. In that work, he seeks out new learning opportunities. In addition, Murphy spends time in working groups to learn more about new or upcoming industry trends and keep updated on evolving technology.

As the leader of a small municipal utility, Murphy also takes time to advocate for public power. As a member of joint action agency WPPI Energy, which is made up of 51 locally owned utilities in Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Iowa, Prairie du Sac Utilities believes in the shared strength of collaboration. That support extends to helping throughout the country. The utility sent crews to help Florida workers with restoration after Hurricane Milton swept through in October, which was familiar territory to Murphy who spent nine days in Florida in 2017 helping local restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

This isn’t the first award for Murphy, whose utility was recently recognized by Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin for its work to keep electric crews and utility staff safe.

“Everyone at our utility works to ensure we can go home at the end of the day knowing we’ve provided safe, reliable, affordable, responsive service,” Murphy said. “That comes with being a small utility. We all work hard for the more than 4,000 people who call the village home.”