Corbett gets his way on shakeup of City Manager Prosser’s duties

Mayor Ron Corbett and his go-to council working majority got its way this week on taking over direct oversight from City Manager Jim Prosser of Greg Eyerly, the city's flood-recovery director.

Corbett and the four other council members long have talked about Prosser having too much power with the former City Council, and the move to get Eyerly to report to the council and not to Prosser seems a balance-of-power move if nothing else.

Corbett said this week he wants Eyerly directly under the council to free Prosser up to concentrate on job growth in the community as he also runs the day-to-day operation of the city.

A formal approval of the change - endorsed by the council's three new members, Corbett, Don Karr and Chuck Swore, and council members Monica Vernon and Justin Shields - should come at the council's April 6 meeting.

Even so, council members Tom Podzimek and Chuck Wieneke were left this week shaking their heads and wondering if the City Charter of 2005, which created Cedar Rapids' government with a part-time council and full-time city manager, allowed two top managers to report directly to the council. A year ago, the council, with a different makeup, rejected the idea on a 6-3 vote.

Meanwhile this week, council member Kris Gulick said he still had not gotten an answer to his question, “Why?” – Why have Eyerly report to the council and not Prosser?

Podzimek suggested the management change broke the law. But even more so, he wondered how the change would work.

By way of example, he pointed to Rita Rasmussen, the city's senior real estate agent, who, in part, is overseeing much of the city's flood buyout program. Who does she directly report to once the change is made? Podzimek wondered.

The City Charter specifies that three employees do report directly to the council, the city manager, the city attorney and the city clerk.

No attorney weighed in on the City Charter or the legality of the management shift at this week's council meeting. However, Corbett said City Attorney Jim Flitz, who is beholden to the council for his job, has said having Eyerly report directly to the council does not violate the City Charter.

For his part, Prosser said he and Corbett will develop a revised management plan for Eyerly, and he added, “I don't believe the City Charter will be an issue.”

Last fall, the council did hire a legislative liaison, who reports directly to the council. However, she does not direct other city staff, Prosser noted.