City of Cedar Rapids will swear in second Mayor, Ron Corbett, to serve under Community's Local Home Rule Charter

"It's been a long path for me to get here, but it has been an even longer path
for all those who were so dramatically affected by the flood. I plan to hit the
ground running just as soon as I get sworn in." - Ron Corbett

Corbett Campaign: Corbett set to be sworn in Saturday - IowaPolictics.com (press release)
Cedar Rapids- Mayor-elect, Ron Corbett is set to be sworn in along with other new city council members this Saturday, January 2nd, at the Veterans Memorial ...

The voters in June 2005 in Cedar Rapids adopted the Council-Manager form of government when they over whelming approved the City's Local Home Rule Charter with over 69% support. The transition to the new form of government has been extremely rocky.

The leadership style of the outgoing mayor contributed greatly to the rocky transition. Further, the hiring of a proponent to the Carver Governance Model may have contributed greatly, especially, with the City Council's inaction establishing the board's pre-stated standards of prudence and ethics and implementing policy to assist in the transition from the Commission form of government to the Council-Manager form of government. The Council dropped the ball on the Ethics section of the City Charter.

The first two and half years were extremely rocky and the expected building blocks were lacking in the transition. Then, the worse natural disaster in the State of Iowa's history occurs in June 2008, with the Flood of 2008.

It will be a challenge for the new Mayor, the third City Council and the community to move forward. Embracing our City Charter and the culture, governance and leadership styles that make the City of Cedar Rapids who we are will be extremely important.

Best wishes to our new Mayor and our other leaders in our community in the New Year. There will be plenty of work ahead for all in our community.

Further, in 2010, we will see Republicans and Democrats conduct a Caucus statewide in each county for each precinct on January 23Rd at 1 p.m. Our State will have a primary in June and a general election in November, as well.

We encourage everyone to get involved and engage in the political process of caucusing, voting and discussing the public policy that our elected leaders will engage in at the local, state and Federal levels.

peace

Is the Carver Goverance Model Good for the City of Cedar Rapids?

Lets look back at the City of Cedar Rapids for a moment. Back in 2004-05, the City of Cedar Rapids formed a Local Home Rule Charter Commission to draft an alternative to Cedar Rapids' commission form of government, which was adopted back in 1908.

(writer's note: ironically, we didn't know about the impact of Floods of 2008, back in '04-'05.)

In June 2005, fueled by the community's public discussion on the efficiencies of the commission form of government, the voters of Cedar Rapids adopted the Local Home Rule Charter, adopting the council-manager form of government for the City of Cedar Rapids. Or, is it the City Manager form of government? The voters passed the Home Rule Charter with 69% support (pdf link).

In the summer of 2006, the young City Council, under the council-manager form, hired the first official city manager for the City of Cedar Rapids. Our current city manger, Jim Prosser, prefers the Carver Governance model. Which draws me to ask two very important questions?

1. Is the Carver Governance model right for a community transitioning from one form of government (Commission) to a new form of government (Council-Manger)?


2. Due to the tragic flooding of 2008, is the Carver Governance model right for Cedar Rapids now?

What is the Carver Governance model and is it right for the City of Cedar Rapids? Also known, as the Policy Governance® Model created by Dr. John Carver. Training is available in September and October by attending training seminars conducted by Miriam Carver; introduced and moderated by John Carver.

According the Carver's website, the governance model "is the world's most complete theoretical foundation for the board's governance role in business, nonprofit (NGO), and government organizations." It's an interesting subject and one that our City Council, stakeholders and voters need to understand and discuss.

My biggest concern is whether Cedar Rapids' culture makes the Carver model a good fit. Further, from the web site, "Policy Governance boards (IE: our city leaders) demand accomplishment of purpose, and only limit the staff's available means to those which do not violate the board's pre-stated standards of prudence and ethics." Under such a young form of government, have the board's pre-stated standards of prudence and ethics been defined by our local leaders?

What do others say about Carver: (Links to simple google searchs):

• A community's concerns over Saskatchewan Healthcare implementation of the Carver model. Clearly, Mario deSantis has a dark view of how the Carver model by the public health care system in Canada.
• Ontario Literacy Coalitions take on the Carver model.
• "Most boards don't work," which is one of the Carver baselines. Well, the new form of government can't really answer that question, since they are brand new? So, is Carver right for a new government, when it has never had an opportunity to show whether it works or not? A Paradigm Shift for Charter School Boards: The Carver Model of Policy Governance.
• Durango School Talk organization highlight Policy Governance as a current issue.
• More comments from Mario deSantis, a board member who commented on his first impression of the Carver model.
• From the Institute on Governance; we changed forms of government, not seeking "advice on improving in governance"... the voters of Cedar Rapids were seeking a more efficiency in local government.
• I keep seeing the reasons why people adopt the Carver model, but can you adopt Carver fully before the pre-stated standards of prudence and ethics are established? Another link to the Institute on Governance points to the "importance you believe governance is important, you may wish to consider where it should sit in the list of priorities facing your organization. Is this model good for implementing a new form of government?
• One church has found the Carver model very popular? This blog speaks to the Unitarian Universalist denomination's use of the Caver model.
• The Alban Institute talked about the Carver model as a secular practice.
• What impact will globalization and urban change have on our public policy discussions in Cedar Rapids... will we ask the critical questions and set the key priorities?

It's interesting to learn about various topics or subjects. The Carver ore Policy Governance model is one that all in the City of Cedar Rapids should add to their list. Our City Manager is a proponent. It is very popular in Canada, like with the CWWA, and with many in the non-profit organizations. There are cities and counties that have adopted or discussed the Carver model. Like Gresham, Oregon; Dallas suburb, City of Frisco; and Union County, North Carolina

What is the official position for the City of Cedar Rapids? Have we clearly adopted Carver? Is the Carver Governance model good for Cedar Rapids at this time?

The Flood of 2008 was unbelievable, very surreal, and has impacted everyone in our community. The Carver Governance model will impact our community as we work to continue our lives and rebuild from this tragic event in '08. We need to find a way to balance our "crisis" mode with everything that must continue on, despite the tragic events of 2008.

peace