City administrator Tracy Slagle has announced she will soon retire from work in municipal government.
Slagle presented her formal retirement notice to Bolivar’s board of aldermen in the Tuesday, Dec. 13, closed session. The board unanimously accepted her resignation. Her last day will be Sunday, Jan. 15.
Slagle leaves the City of Bolivar following a decade of service.
“This is the most rewarding job I have ever had,” Slagle said. “I’m so proud of the staff we have here in the City. I appreciate our mayor and felt we’ve worked together to bring the requests of the citizens and the direction of the board of aldermen to fruition while still maintaining a conservative fiscal budget. I wish the City team and all of our departments the very best.”
Slagle earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration from Missouri State University in 2010. She first joined the City of Bolivar staff in June 2012, initially working as a resource development coordinator overseeing human resources and community and economic development.
In December 2015, she moved to the deputy city administrator role, serving under former city administrator Darin Chappell.
Following Chappell’s resignation in August 2017, she was the interim city administrator until she formally took over the City’s lead administrator spot in January 2018. She was the first woman in the City’s history to fill that role.
“I’m proud to have worked alongside the first woman to lead Bolivar as an administrator,” Mayor Christopher D. Warwick said. “Tracy’s success shows the power of diversity in leadership. I hope she serves as an inspiration for future leaders in our community.”
Warwick said Slagle “has been an integral part of the City’s progress and bringing Bolivar to where it is today.”
The City of Bolivar went through many changes and challenges during Slagle’s five years as city administrator, including navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through the pandemic, Tracy worked tirelessly to ensure staff was taken care of and protocols and procedures were in place to maintain a healthy work environment,” Warwick said. “For instance, she discovered and initiated the work share program, which allowed us to maintain our work force throughout the pandemic.”
During Slagle’s tenure as administrator, the City addressed concerns with its utilities infrastructure and United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Bolivar residents approved the sale and franchise of the City’s water and wastewater systems to Liberty Utilities in June 2020.
“Tracy was instrumental in the transfer of our utility department employees and assets to Liberty,” Warwick said. “There was a lot there she managed herself.”
As Slagle worked to balance the City’s budget, she helped spearhead an information campaign for a capital improvement tax reallocation measure. Voters approved the tax reallocation in November 2019.
“Tracy constantly looked for ways to use the city’s funds more efficiently,” Warwick said. “When we brought the tax reallocation before voters, we were at a point where the City was reevaluating its ability to maintain a full-time fire department. One of her first tasks as city administrator was to find a way to financially maintain that department. She set us on the course to use those tax reallocation dollars to help sustain our fire department after losing the SAFER grant, which covered firefighters’ salaries.”
While she was city administrator, Slagle helped reestablish Bolivar’s parks and recreation program through the City’s purchase of the lease on the former Roy Blunt YMCA building, the surrounding land and equipment in October 2020. She facilitated numerous street and sidewalk projects and the completion of the Believe in Bolivar 2040 comprehensive plan in 2021, as well.
“Our accomplishments together as a City under Tracy’s leadership have made Bolivar stronger,” Warwick said. “It’s been such a privilege to serve the community with Tracy.”
Warwick said the City of Bolivar human resources department and a search committee, which will vet candidates through a rigorous process implemented by the board of aldermen, are already working to fill the city administrator role.
“The search committee will recommend candidates to the City’s personnel committee, which is made up of four aldermen,” Warwick said. “Ultimately, the board as a whole will have the final decision on which candidate will be the next city administrator.”
Warwick called the hiring process a “difficult one to go through.”
“But, we believe the City is in the best place it’s been in a very long time,” he said. “We’re hopeful we’ll find the right person to lead us into the future.”
The community is invited to a retirement reception for Slagle from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at Bolivar City Hall, 345 S. Main Ave.
