8/9/2019 4-13 Jim Prosser Statement (2)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 13, 2010, 2:00 p.m.

Jim Prosser Thanks City Council, Residents and Employees

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – April 13, 2010 – Today, City Manager Jim Prosser provides the

following statement to the Cedar Rapids community:

"I have advised the Mayor and City Council that I am resigning my position as city manager of 

Cedar Rapids effective April 13. I thank the City Council, employees and all the people of Cedar Rapids for the opportunity to serve this outstanding community.

The focus during my tenure as City Manager has been to be part of a team preparing Cedar Rapids to be a better place now and for the next generation. The flood of 2008 provided enormous

challenges to this goal but there are good reasons to be confident of our ability to continue to

make this city the community of choice for people to live, work and do business.

We should be proud of what we have accomplished while not neglecting the commitment

required to fully recover from the 2008 floods. Not a day goes by that we are not mindful of the

 pain still being suffered by so many as a result of this flood. A lesser community would have been brought to its knees by this disaster. But Cedar Rapids has kept moving ahead with urgency,

 providing services essential to growing this community and building systems to deliver flood

recovery assistance.

Significantly, our ability to recover is linked to several notable accomplishments including:

• Government reorganization and service improvements – The Blueprint for the Future

reorganized city government and has made us more effective, efficient and responsive. We

have incorporated best practices that guide world class organizations including continuous process improvement; customer service systems, and performance measurement. The

result of these efforts is that we can clearly demonstrate that we not only do more with less

 but have improved the benefit received from your taxes.

• Public participation and communications – We have increased communication and

meaningful public engagement through the public open house process, neighborhood

– more –

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meetings, workshops; the Your City newsletter, Citizens Feedback Network, and

increased communications planning and staff. Better public participation means more

informed decisions which leads to decisions that stick and will be implemented.

• Planning for the future – We have solid structures in place to guide the work of the Cityincluding strategic planning, long-term financial planning; the Downtown Area Plan; City

Vision deployment, and the parks and recreation master plan. These plans will accelerateredevelopment for a more vibrant City as seen in the Medical District initiative currently

underway.

• Flood recovery – Cedar Rapids has received recognition for both the quality and rapid

 pace of developing recovery plans including the River Corridor Redevelopment floodmanagement plan; the Neighborhood Planning Process Action Plans, and the Public

Facilities Plan. While we can never be satisfied with recovery efforts until the last flood

impacted person or business is back on their feet, significant progress has been

demonstrated.

Though there is still much work ahead, this community’s efforts to recover from this disaster have been remarkable. I want to thank the thousands of residents that have shown their commitment tothe city in flood recovery efforts and in taking the time to participate in our many open houses,

workshops and forums. Through your engagement in government, you have invested in preparing

this community for future success.

I want to express my profound appreciation for the hard-working, talented, and dedicated

employees of this city. It has been my distinct privilege and inspiration to work with you and

along side of you. I owe all employees my gratitude for their commitment to this City, itsresidents and public service. It has been a humbling experience to be part of a team that has

clearly and tirelessly rose above the call of duty to serve this community at a time of need.

Finally, a special thanks to my Cedar Rapids neighbors for their thoughtfulness and words of 

encouragement and support. I will especially remember shortly after my arrival to Cedar Rapids,

an invitation by David from Hy-Vee to share a casual dinner with his extended family and watchan Iowa football game.

It has truly been an honor to have worked with you all to make Cedar Rapids an even better placeto live; a community that is well on its way to flood recovery and becoming a greater city."

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