Mayor Loven speaks on absence of city manager
From left are Utilities Clerk Jessica Bittner, Assistant City Manager Jamie Blume and Administrative Assistant Deb Eulberg. Together with the mayor, the city office staff is keeping things running smoothly until a city manager is hired. (Press photo by Molly Moser)
By Molly Moser
The City of Guttenberg has been without a city manager since July, when the council accepted the resignation of former city manager Mary Willett. In the months since, Mayor Russ Loven, Assistant City Manager Jamie Blume, and other city staff have stepped up to keep operations running smoothly.
“Right now, the city doesn’t have any big projects. The Garber Road bridge project will be coming up, but it’s not really active at this time. There are no lawsuits; nothing major going on, so that’s a big part of how we’re still functioning,” Blume told The Press last week.
“We are accomplishing everything we need to and in a very efficient manner due to an extremely competent and hard-working staff, with guidance from the city council and mayor, plus a little extra time from the mayor. Government at all levels is becoming more complicated and it takes leadership to move ahead as well as stay on top of things. I do anticipate that we will make a decision in the next six months on how we will address major leadership responsibilities,” said Mayor Loven.
Day-to-day activities are being covered by Blume and Loven, who are attending extra meetings to stay on top of current events in groups like the hospital board and task force, housing meetings, meetings of the recreation, park and cemetery boards, historic preservation, GEIDC, and Kids Kampus.
“We have been extremely fortunate to have an Assistant City Manager and City Clerk, Jamie Blume, who has been able to handle most issues and be on top of operations in an almost seamless manner. She is extremely competent, intelligent and efficient in staying on top of everything. In fact the entire office staff, as well as all city employees are picking up as needed,” said the mayor.
Blume served under former Garnavillo City Manager Denise Schneider before joining the Guttenberg city staff in 2008 as utilities clerk. She was promoted to assistant city manager in March. Administrative Assistant Deb Eulberg has served that role for 23 years, and Utilities Clerk Jessica Bittner started her full time position in July.
City managers from nearby communites, such as Schneider, who now works for the City of Marquette, have helped Blume keep all bases covered. “In going to different clerk workshops and meetings, you get to know some of the other clerks in the area and some that have similar situations to Guttenberg. Marquette is great because they are also a river town,” said Blume. She also uses email programs like ClerkNet and Grapevine to correspond with other city clerks in Iowa. “If something comes up, like an electrical question, I can send an email out to other cities that have municipal electric to see how they’ve handled a situation or what policies they might have,” she explained.
But just how long can Guttenberg survive without a city manager? “Writing grants and doing research on different projects takes up a lot of time. That’s where, when those things start to come about, we’re going to need a city manager,” Blume said.
“As the mayor I intentionally wanted to try it without a city manager to personally see what happens without a city manager and assess the effects, where we need one, what gets neglected and in general are there any consequences. As mayor I was planning to take over more responsibilities during the interim. I have spent considerably more time than normal, but due to some health issues I haven’t spent as much time as desired,” said Loven.
“There are two practical reasons why I have delayed replacement besides assessing what we really need. One is that the city did not budget for Mary Willet’s settlement, so that would take us almost through December. The other reason is that Guttenberg cannot afford most experienced city managers that fit our needs other than a beginner or a retired person on an interim basis. Most beginners have young families, which would be great, but they don’t want to move during the school year.”
Budget meetings begin next month, and Blume anticipates this will be a busy time in the city office in absence of the city manager. Also on the horizon is the Garber Road bridge project, which is being undertaken by IIW engineers and the Iowa DOT. The project is 90% funded by sources outside the city and surveying has already begun. Blume reports that DOT staff, IIW, and Public Works Director Danny Walke will supervise the project, which is expected to proceed smoothly in absence of a city manager.
