Hodel Starts New Role As St. Cloud City Administrator on Monday

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud's new City Administrator officially starts this Monday.

However, Tracy Hodel is no stranger to the city's government. She's worked full time with the city for 24 years, which doesn't include her time interning with the city while she attended St. Cloud State University.

After getting her degree in Aquatic Biology, her first city job was at the wastewater treatment facility.

She says each promotion and new role has allowed her to learn and grow.

Going from Assistant Public Utilities Director to the Public Services Director, I got the opportunity to work on engineering projects and street resurfacing projects. I get super excited driving over a brand-new repaved roadway. Our team did such an awesome job designing this. So you get just excited about different things.

Hodel says it's the people who have kept her working in city government.

So many passionate, dedicated, hardworking people who work for the city. Honestly, that's what's keeping me here. And not just the people that work for the city, but the people that are here. I've created a lot of great relationships with residents and property owners.

Hodel says some of the biggest challenges facing St. Cloud are no different from other cities: the housing shortages and infrastructure improvements.

The City Administrator is responsible for the control and supervision of the administrative affairs of the government. The Administrator is responsible for making recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. The position also prepares the city's budget, supervises city employees, makes personnel recommendations, and manages City Council agendas.

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Previous city administrator Matt Staehling resigned earlier this year to take the same role in Duluth. Fire Chief Matt Love has been doing the job on an interim basis.