Happy New Year: 2011 will be an important year for Cedar Rapids, Iowa USA

Happy New Year to all ...

The past three years have been like no other for many in the City of Cedar Rapids

• Flood of 2008


• Recession of 2009


• Change over in the City Manager position of 2010

What will come in the New Year? 2011 has arrived and there will be many questions ahead.

How will the City of Cedar Rapids handle the review of the Home Rule Charter in 2011? Will applications be taken and will they expand the number of people who serve on the Home Rule Charter Review Commission?

Right now, the City plans nine members to review the Home Rule Charter. Early thoughts were for each member of the City Council, including the Mayor, suggesting a name, with the five districts representatives picking a person from their district. In the past, applications, like other boards and commissions, were requested and names were selected from the applications received. The past two charter commissions for the City of Cedar Rapids each had 15 members.

Wow, is this what we expected, when 69% of the voters selected the Council-Manager form of government in 2005?

In February 2011, we will see the Five Seasons Hotel close. Work will formally begin on the Convention Center and U.S. Cellular Center project. The City Council has purchased the hotel, so they can include it in the redevelopment project. When the Five Seasons Center (U.S. Cellular Center) was built, the hotel was built together. Infrastructure was shared. The land has always been the City's, but the hotel and air rights have been private.

What will happen with Flood Mitigation in 2011? Will Cedar Rapids get construction started to protect Downtown, as reinvestment continues there? Will the West Side be protected as well?

In November 2011, our City will have an election of one at-large council member and the district representatives for District 2 (non-downtown/east side district) and District 4 (mainly NW side district).

Some stories to follow in the City of Cedar Rapids as we head into 2011 ...

Branstad sets focus on jobs, economy - The Gazette

VIDEO: Greene Square Park building demolished - The Gazette
Demolition on the Cedar Rapids' park building in Greene Square Park is wrapping up this morning (Dec. 31). The building was used by the Green Square ...

Commission to review Cedar Rapids’ charter, form of government - The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — Is nine the best number of members for the City Council? Should the mayor be a full-timer? Can you imagine a return to five, full-time council members who also manage city departments? Those are apt to be some of the topics discussed by the Charter Review Commission, which the City Council Tuesday ...

Cedar Rapids mayor reflects on his first year in office - The Gazette
One of the great City Hall dust-ups in the decade before the Flood of 2008 centered on a city handout to help replace a tiny, aged grocery with a shiny, specially designed, neighborhood store in a highly visible spot in the 1500 block of busy First Avenue NE. It took years of back and forth ...

Council hires second lobbying firm to secure funding for flood-protection - The Gazette

Council takes steps toward flood-protection system - The Gazette

Branstad says taxes, regulations blocking Iowa job creation - The Gazette
Commercial property tax and regulatory relief are needed for the state’s private sector to create more jobs, according to Governor-elect Terry Branstad. Speaking to a capacity crowd at the Marion Public Library Tuesday, Branstad said commercial property taxes need to be lowered to encourage business expansion and attract new enterprises to Iowa, but not at ...

Hall-Perrine Foundation gives $3 million for new Cedar Rapids library - The Gazette
The Hall-Perrine Foundation of Cedar Rapids has announced yet another award for a city building project. This time, the foundation is giving $3 million to the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation, an amount which equals about half of the foundation’s fundraising goal for the city’s $45-million library project. The library foundation already has about $1 ...

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