Jim Prosser's Plan for Cedar Rapids

By Mark Geary, Reporter

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By Mark Geary

Story Created: Aug 21, 2006 at 7:29 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 22, 2006 at 4:25 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Jim Prosser is now Cedar Rapids first City Manager.

He arrived in town just a few days ago, and now he's ready to get down to business.

Prosser insists he'll be just one part of the big switch to a new form of government.

"I'm not coming in here to run the show. I play a role. My role isn't more important than anyone else in this organization," Prosser said.

Mayor Kay Halloran says the council has already accomplished a lot since they took office in January.

"I hope people don't believe that the period between when we were sworn in and when Mr. Prosser arrived was dead time because it wasn't," Halloran said.

Prosser says he has a five-part plan to guide Cedar Rapids through the transition process. He'll start by examining the governing system.

"The elected officials and the staff have already made a lot of progress. Hopefully in the next few months, I'll be refining that a little bit more based on the experience I have a professional manager," Prosser said.

Reviewing the organizational structure is next on his list.

"Clearly there's a desire to take a look and a need to take a look at that structure and see if there needs to be any changes, and, if so, what they should be," Prosser said.

The city council's goals and priorities are important to Prosser.

"The public has a lot of confidence in the community, but does expect more and has high expectations. So we need to build on the successes we've had to date," Prosser said.

He also wants to develop a communications plan.

"The public needs to understand. They need to have background information on issues. So, a communications plan helps accomplish that," Prosser said.

Finally, he says a financial plan is critical for future success.

"Cities are forever. So, you really need to look at the fact that you need a financial plan that's longer than just from year to year," Prosser said.

Prosser has a lot of experience working with finances. The council is looking forward to taking advantage of his expertise.

He says some changes will happen more quickly than others, but he's ready to help push Cedar Rapids forward.

E-mail Mark Geary at Mark.Geary@kcrg.com

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