Waterloo bids farewell to Kennedy

Pictured, from left, are retiring city employee Shawn Kennedy and Waterloo Mayor Stan Darter during the Jan. 6 city council meeting. Kennedy received a clock in appreciation for 25 years as the city’s collector and budget officer. She received a standing ovation from those in attendance.

The City of Waterloo honored longtime collector and budget officer Shawn Kennedy during the Jan. 6 city council meeting upon her retirement after 25 years of employment. 

Waterloo Mayor Stan Darter presented Kennedy with a clock as a token of the city’s appreciation. 

Darter offered high praise for Kennedy from his perspective, which covers the past 10 years of her involvement with the city. 

“About 10 years ago, our first interaction dealt with technology,” said Darter, who previously served as an alderman before becoming mayor. “You were doing everything in your power to manage the city’s technology needs, and our tech support at the time left a lot to be desired. You alone helped me to get the city converted to REJIS.”

Darter listed that conversion as a “truly monstrous undertaking” that involved hardware purchases, software upgrades and contracts for services.  

“An evolution that was years in the making,” Darter said. “And just when we would get used to a REJIS technician, we were assigned a new one and it felt like we were starting all over.”

Darter continued that soon after the city had settled in with REJIS and created a server room, Kennedy and the city had to deal with a multi-year advanced metering infrastructure project – which was then followed by budgeting, planning and building a new water plant. 

“Also, a new VOIP phone system installation occurred during this time frame,” Darter added. “Simultaneously with all of this chaos and change, you continued with your primary duties of budget officer/collector and managing the business office – a full-time job in its own right.” 

Darter concluded by saying all of this was just a fraction of Kennedy’s contributions to the city and its residents over the years.

“You will be sorely missed, and I know whatever you undertake next will be a success,” Darter said.

In other city news, the council on Jan. 6 approved a quote from Baer Heating & Cooling in the amount of $148,916 for boiler installation at City Hall. 

This work is to replace an aging system in the building.

The next meeting of the Waterloo City Council is set for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m. due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day being this Monday. 

Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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