by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni confirmed Jan. 23 that she will retire sometime this next summer or early September.
Degiovanni, who has worked for the city of Sartell for more than 20 years, told the Newsleader she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren and indulge herself in her longtime passion, gardening.
As city administrator, Degiovanni led the city through its years of boom-time growth and multiple developments that included the city’s large medical campus, expansion and creation of parks and athletic facilities, a community center, widespread business start-ups, ambitious infrastructure projects and, most recently, the Public Safety Facilities center (police and fire departments’ headquarters now under construction).
At one time, Degiovanni served as both the city’s financial director and administrator. Year after year, she, along with city staff, garnered praise from auditors and credit-rating companies for operating a healthy budget while at the same time finding ways to see to the needs of the ever-expanding city.
Degiovanni told the Newsleader she had been pondering the thought of retiring for some time. Now that the city is doing so well and on a good forward path, she thought it would be a good time to end her job.
An in-depth story about Degiovanni, her life and work, will be published in an upcoming edition of the Sartell-St. Stephen Newsleader.
