The village of Kronenwetter hired a Wausau West graduate as its next administrator, hoping to bring stability to what has been a volatile position over the past several years.
The village board selected Peter Kampfer to be the village’s next administrator. Kampfer grew up on a farm just west of Wausau and currently works in Texas as the general manager of the Johnson County Special Utility District. He’s also served as an administrator for the city of Hamilton and Colorado City in Texas, among other municipalities.
In addition to a number of municipal roles, Kampfer has also worked for the FBI and ran a successful printing business in Dallas.
Kampfer’s selection ends a year of the village not having an administrator and working with interim administrators after administrator Richard Downey left. Downey’s departure came after a major staff exodus — a City Pages investigation found that employees left the village because they felt harassed by several board members at the time.
Kampfer touts his experience in both administration and development in highlighting what he will bring to the role.
“I am not a traditional manager, but a ‘hybrid’ of an economic developer and administrator,” Kampfer said. “I would arrive in Kronenwetter as the administrator, confident, experienced and not living any paradigm on how to manage the Village, but instead offer an authentic fresh perspective with a tool kit of proven tools of leadership and management.”