Gary Boden hired as new city manager for Waukon
Waukon City Manager Gary Boden ...
Meet and Greet event set for October 7
The City of Waukon recently hired Gary Boden as the new city manager in preparation for the retirement of the City’s first-ever city manager, Dean Hilgerson. Boden and Hilgerson were able to work together for several days allowing for a smooth transition for Boden in his position with the City of Waukon.
Boden has lived and worked in a variety of communities throughout his 40-year career primarily employed in city manager/administrator positions in DeKalb, IL, Whitewater, WI, Clinton, Marengo, IL and more recently Bloomfield. Boden shared with The Standard that his work experience has included urban and land use planning, financial planning, labor relations, intergovernmental relations, as well as having a strong background in human resources. Beyond Boden’s extensive experience working in city administration, his educational background includes a bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a masters degree in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University.
Spending much of his life in the Midwest, Boden was born in Rockford, IL and has two children, twins, from an earlier marriage. His son is an attorney and guardian ad litem living in Milwaukee, WI and his daughter is a reporter working for public radio living in Pittsburgh, PA. Boden and his wife, Ruth, will be celebrating their 11th wedding anniversary in October.
In his free time, Boden is an ardent Chicago sports teams fan, enjoys reading historical non-fiction, is interested in ornithology and, more specifically, bird migrations, and enjoys visiting restaurants throughout the region with his wife. They are also planning to canoe on the Upper Iowa River in the coming weeks.
In addressing his priorities for his work as city manager, Boden discussed being thankful for the groundwork that Hilgerson has established for this position as Waukon’s first city manager, which he will be building upon. Boden indicated that a majority of the planning and decision making relating to the new wastewater treatment facility is in place due to Hilgerson’s efforts and that his priorities immediately will include street project planning and financing, public buildings including the Police Department and Street Department garage, and work with economic development entities to increase housing availability and to work on visioning for Waukon. Boden discussed some technology and process upgrades for City Hall, which will be addressed in the coming weeks.
The public is invited to get to know Gary Boden at a City Manager Meet and Greet event Monday, October 7 from 4-6:30 p.m. at City Hall on Allamakee Street in Waukon. The event is being sponsored by the City of Waukon and Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).
