Longtime Iowa City assistant city manager retiring

It took Iowa City Clerk Marian Karr half a minute to find the words to describe what life will be like at City Hall without Dale Helling.

That's not because she had nothing to say about the longtime assistant city manager, who is retiring at the end of the month, but rather the emotions brought on by that thought choked her up.

“It will be different. It will be very strange,” she said.

Helling retires Nov. 30 after 36 years with the city, including the past 33 as the assistant city manager. Karr has been there for 31 of those years.

“I'm going to miss what I'm doing, especially the people,” the 66-year-old Helling said. “But intuitively, I know it's the right time.”

A Fort Madison native with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Iowa, Helling actually started his Iowa City career as a police officer in 1975. He wanted to move into administration and the assistant city manager job was open, so he applied at got it in 1978.

Helling's primary duties in recent years have been overseeing labor relations and Iowa City's civil rights, human resources and cable TV divisions.

He has also served as interim city manager three times, including twice in the past four years, when the council looked for a new chief administrative officer to run the city's day-to-day operations.

Geoff Fruin, assistant city manager in Normal, Ill., will replace Helling in the new position of assistant to the city manager. That represents a change in duties, and lower pay, from what Helling has done.

While City Manager Tom Markus, who started with Iowa City a year ago, has made changes to his office, Helling's decision to retire was his own and something he'd considered for years.

Markus called Helling a “consummate professional” whose experience and insight helped Markus get acclimated to Iowa City.

“As far as I'm concerned, Dale could have been the city manager,” Markus said. “He was eminently qualified.”

Helling applied for the city manager job that eventually went to Steve Atkins in 1986. Atkins, who retired in 2007, said being rivals for the same position was never an issue between the two and he happily calls Helling a friend, something Helling also said.

Atkins pointed to the history of smooth contract negotiations between the city and labor unions as an example of Helling's skill on the job. But he had a hard time coming up with an anecdote about Helling before realizing that's another sign of Helling's professionalism.

“He's a very steady hand,” Atkins said.

Helling served as acting city manager for several months after Atkin's retirement and for more than a year and a half in 2009 and 2010 between the firing of Michael Lombardo and the hiring of Markus.

Council members said they were comfortable taking their time in each search because of their confidence in Helling.

“There was never any doubt that the city was in good hands in that time,” Mayor Matt Hayek said.

The City Council recognized Helling with a plaque and standing ovation at its Nov. 22 meeting. It was the last of 1,500 council meetings Helling estimated he's attended in his tenure.

As he reflects on his career, Helling said some of the good memories are how the downtown has changed, improved relations between the city and the UI, and working with the public and City Council members.

“I know this sounds hokey because people say it all the time, but I like working at the local level because you have that direct contact with the people you serve,” he said.

Helling, who is married and has an adult son, doesn't have any grand plans in retirement. There's some work around the house that has been put off for years, in part by his busy schedule. He'll volunteer. He may join Facebook as a way to keep up with people. And he'd like to trade memorandums and reports for books.

“People say, ‘You don't read much,'” Helling said. “Hell, I read all the time.”

Helling still remembers his last day as a police officer, taking off his uniform and wondering if he was making the right choice. He's missed law enforcement, but he said he has never second-guessed that decision

Karr may have a hard time thinking about Helling's last day, but Helling has an idea what it will be like after more than three decades of a time-consuming job.

“I'll be caught up,” he said with a laugh. “First time in 33 years, but I'll be caught up.”