Column Plus - Pomeranz Speaks

Jeff Pomeranz has fielded the question a few times lately.

Why leave West Des Moines, the high-performance sports car of a city that you helped build, for the high-pressure heavy lifting that awaits you as Cedar Rapids' next city manager?

“My nature says don't get extremely comfortable,” Pomeranz said during an hourlong conversation last week. “Seek new challenges, new opportunities. That's what being a city manager's about. It's not about resting on previous accomplishments. It's about continuing to grow, continuing to learn, to develop, getting to know a new community.

“It's a community that I think has tremendous potential ... If we look back and Cedar Rapids is dramatically better in five years, I find that inspiring. I want to be part of that success.”

Swell. So ... can you get us a Trader Joes, that trendy grocery snared earlier this month by WDM?

“I wish, but ...” Pomeranz said, dashing my hopes, diplomatically.

Two things I heard during the interview make me optimistic about this Pomeranz guy's chances.

One is that he's not coming to Cedar Rapids to inflict a prefabricated management template. He insists we're not going to be a case study for some rigid Pomeranz Method: “I want to listen to the community. I want to be accessible. I want to be open. I want to learn as much as I can ... I don't have a prescription.”

Second, Pomeranz believes, strongly, that Cedar Rapids is poised for better days.

I know, I know, we hear booster talk all the time. But it's heartening to hear it from someone who has seen what real success looks like, and played a central role in making it happen.

Everywhere his unconventional, winding career path has taken him, from Texas to Washington to Iowa, things got better. Budgets were balanced. Development popped. Jobs were created. People were sorry to see him go.

“He may be the most popular city manager we've ever had,” said John Brewer, editor/publisher of the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles, WA., where Pomeranz dealt with the loss of the town's largest employer.

“He kept very close contact with city council members. He didn't try to operate in a void away from them,” Brewer said.

He'll have to sprint to keep up with this council, which doesn't often stop to ask for directions. Pomeranz said he's OK with speed. “I like to see accomplishment. At this time in the history of Cedar Rapids, I think it's important for issues to be resolved and for the community to continue in its building process,” he said.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

You come from a suburban city rapidly expanding/sprawling, how does that experience fit Cedar Rapids' desire for urban infill?

“A good city manager reflects the community that the manager works for. In my case, this will be my fourth job. My first job was on the Texas-Mexico border, the city of Del Rio, Texas. And they had a set of very unique problems.

“I've had lots of different experiences in a number of different communities. The needs have been different in each of those communities. I think what's most important is the skills and abilities and the energy that a city manager brings to the job. That's where I think I've excelled in three very different communities. I think that ability to be flexible, to change, to gain an understanding , appreciation of where the community wants to go and aggressively pursue it is where I've been successful and what I plan on doing in Cedar Rapids.”

Have city leaders here told you what your priorities will be?

“It's obvious that the community has a number of challenges as well as a number of opportunities. But the first thing I plan on doing when I start work in Cedar Rapids is really talking to the community and determining what the needs are. I'm not starting with a prescription on where I think Cedar Rapids needs to go, and no one has given me that kind of very specific direction. I want to listen to the community. I want to be accessible. I want to be open. I want to learn as much as I can. And then, working with the mayor and council, refine existing plans and develop a plan for the future. “

Did the way the former manager Jim Prosser departed give you any pause?

“It personally did not enter into my decision-making…When I came to West Des Moines, I replaced a city manager who resigned. In my previous jobs, that was the exact same situation. When I was in Port Angeles, Washington, a long-time city manager resigned, similar circumstances. In the city of Del Rio, Texas, my first job, I actually started as an intern in 1983 and the gentleman who hired me resigned and I eventually replaced him by 1985, and at that point was the youngest city manager in the country of a community of that size, over 30,000. So I guess I come, you know…certainly the knowledge, the background is important. You want to learn from the lessons of the past. But I have my own skills, my own ability, my own approach to being a city manager. That did not dissuade me."

What's your philosophy on the council-manager relationship?

“It's really based on communication. I think the staff has the obligation to provide recommendations to the mayor and city council. It's a city manager responsibility to run the city on a day-to-day basis. It's a city's council's responsibility and a mayor's responsibility to make policy. Ultimately, the city manager makes the recommendations and the city council either accepts or rejects those recommendations and then the city manager and staff execute the will of the mayor and city council. And that's the system of government.

“Where I will work very, very hard is communicating to the entire city council, as well as the mayor, what my recommendations are and why, as well as on a day-to-day basis keeping up with the council, letting them know what we're going and why and what the staff direction is. Making sure everyone feels comfortable with the work of the staff.”

The council here often works fast. Is speed OK with you?

“By nature, I'm a person who likes to get things done. I like to see accomplishment. I like to resolve issues and work on moving community forward. So that is something that I enjoy. I like to see accomplishment. At this time in the history of Cedar Rapids, I think it's important for issues to be resolved and for the community to continue in its building process.

“I also fully recognize you need to follow the law, you need to follow the protocols of the communities, analyze, properly, alternatives before a recommendation is made. So I'd say a sense of urgency, moves thing forward, get things done, is what I enjoy. But I also fully recognize the need to do things properly.”

How do you handle situations when plans draw opposition?

(He cited initial community and business opposition to the construction of the Jordan Creek Town Center, a large shopping mall complex that has since sparked considerable growth in WDM. The city's decision to use TIF proceeds to pay off bonds for streets and other infrastructure connected to the project resulted in a lawsuit that the city ulitmately won.)

“What we did though that entire process was work with the public, not roll over the public, but talk to the public, listen to the concerns we were hearing. We tried real hard to address those issues. In almost all cases, now that this project is completed, citizens have come back and said this is a great deal for the community. We really feel this has had a very positive impact on our city, and thank you for the effort you put in on it.

“I'm not saying you can please everyone. I know that in any big issue, any important issue, there are multiple interests. But by being fair, by listening, by not being afraid to modify a proposal when appropriate, by looking for alternatives, I think you can bring even detractors on board with that kind of effort.”

Later in the interview...

“I'm not naïve enough to think everyone is going to be on board with every single project. But at some point what leadership is about is deciding what you want to do. And I believe that occurs after you reach out, after you talk to people, after you analyze the alternatives. But a decision is made. And then you move forward and work diligently to make sure there's success.”

You helped build a great town with good quality of life, why leave?

“Well, that's a reasonable question. And I think it's my nature says don't get extremely comfortable. Seek new challenges, new opportunities. That's what being a city manager's about. It's not about resting on previous accomplishments. It's about continuing to grow, continuing to learn, to develop, getting to know a new community. And in the case of Cedar Rapids, managing the second-largest city in the state of Iowa, that has some challenges but also what I believe are tremendous opportunities for the future. I find that very exciting.”

“To help build, rebuild, to be part of one of the most important communities in the state of Iowa, I think, is an honor and is exciting and is an opportunity I'm looking forward to.”

Later in the interview...

“It's a community that I think has tremendous potential. If I can be part of the success, and if we look back and Cedar Rapids is dramatically better in five years, I find that inspiring. I want to be part of that success.”