On Dec. 29, 2023, Pierz lost its city administrator, Bob Otremba, who had held the position since July 2019 and had held various positions as a city employee for Pierz since March 2000. Otremba resigned from the position in order to pursue other opportunities.
Nearly two months later, the city found its new city administrator, Laura Wacker, whose first day on the job was Feb. 20. Now over a month into the new role, Wacker said she is settling into the position nicely.
Describing her new fellow city employees as “phenomenal,” Wacker said her first two weeks in the position have flown by. In that time, she prepared and completed her first Pierz City Council meeting, prepared for the city’s annual audit and completed end-of-month tasks such as completing invoices, working on payroll and closing the month-end books.
This is Wacker’s first time working as a government employee, but she has lots of experience in administration. Following her first job as a waitress at the Corner Cafe in Genola, she has always worked in health care. Over the past seven years, she was employed with CentraCare at the St. Cloud Hospital as an administrative assistant for five of its surgical departments. Working closely as a liaison between the directors and surgeons, advanced practice providers and nurses, Wacker was an Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) coordinator for the hospital’s trauma department. As professionals from across the area would travel to the St. Cloud Hospital to receive their ATLS certification or recertification, this was a big responsibility and one that prepared her for the work of being Pierz’s city administrator.
Wacker said the responsibilities of Pierz city administrator are many, but “in a nutshell,” she manages and oversees the city. Going more in depth, she said this means overseeing the city’s departments, roads, development, planning and zoning and more. Other responsibilities include managing the budget and fiscal components for the city, serving as the liaison between the City Council and other staff, much like she was the liaison between hospital directors and other staff, implementing Council decisions and bringing staff recommendations to the Council and working with employees, residents, outside organizations and local businesses to answer questions and address concerns.
The most important skill Wacker said she learned in her previous professional experience was communication.
“Everyone has their own way of doing this,” Wacker wrote in an email. “Departments need good communication. Everyone wants to be in the know. Understanding this and being transparent in every aspect is one thing that I have taken with me.”
After a Pierz resident informed her about the open position and also reading about it in the Morrison County Record, Wacker took the opportunity to apply on the city’s website. Having recently acquired her Master of Business Administration degree, she was in the market for a career to use her expertise and qualifications. However, there was also a more personal reason as to why this position spoke to Wacker.
“Being a resident of Pierz my entire life, (I know) that I am not going anywhere,” Wacker wrote. “This is where my husband and I graduated, where we were married, where my kids will graduate. I am in this for the long run. What better city to be a part of? Pierz is proud and has such a strong community. We all want the best for Pierz. Who wouldn’t want to apply?”
Two weeks after submitting her application, she got a call to come in for an interview the following day. Not even before making it home from the first interview, Wacker got another call asking her to come in for a second one a few days later. The same day as the second interview, Wacker received a call from Mayor John Perleberg offering her the job, which she accepted.
Wacker said she would be open to making changes to how things are run as city administrator if any staff members told her changes were needed, but for now, she is working on fully understanding the role and how everyone else’s systems work. Again stressing the importance of communication, she said that key skill will drive all of her other decisions.
Looking ahead in her career, Wacker said she is most looking forward to working with the City Council and the overall Pierz community and will always keep an eye out for the opportunities and challenges that come with the role of city administrator. Looking forward five years, Wacker simply stated that she planned to still be in the role of Pierz city administrator.
“My goal is for Pierz to always be successful,” Wacker wrote. “Pierz is a proud and strong community and I love that. We support one another. I like the history we have. Morrison County is made up of many small towns, but each one has something to offer.”
One thing that surprised Wacker the most when stepping into the role of city administrator was how few citizens physically attend the City Council meetings and how many instead watch the City Council’s live streams and recordings on YouTube. So far, she said her favorite part about being Pierz city administrator is the staff’s efficiency and, of course, great communication, which makes her smile and look forward to each day at work. Speaking about the importance of her role, she said being a good city administrator means “being able to provide the City Council enough correct information to help them plan the future of Pierz.”
Wacker lives just outside of Buckman with her husband, Rick Wacker. Combined, they have three children: Ellie, 18, Jacob, 16, and Charlotte, 8. They also have a dog named Lady and three mouser cats. Outside of work, she enjoys being with family, playing card games, completing puzzles, camping and reading.
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