T-R FILE PHOTO Marshalltown City Administrator Jessica Kinser, left, explains the State Street reconstruction project to Travis Hornberg and Andrina Helgerson during an open house at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The end of June and beginning of July is always an exciting and busy time around the city of Marshalltown! Another fiscal year is ending and a new one beginning, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where we have been in fiscal year 2022 and where we will be in fiscal year 2023.

For the fiscal year that ends on June 30, 2022, we end a period of uncertainty. Much of the fiscal year was spent on the design of two very big projects–State Street Reconstruction and the Edgewood Extension. Both projects have been bid, and we are on solid footing with those construction budgets and are certain we will see some significant changes on the north side of Marshalltown in 2022 and 2023.

One element of both projects is the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. As we started the current fiscal year, we knew we had ARPA funds, but we were not quite sure exactly where they would go, with the exception of absolutely needing at least $2 million from ARPA for the State Street project. In addition to that project, the City Council funded a stormwater detention basin for the Edgewood Extension.

A long-term agreement with Youth and Shelter Services for the MPACT program, which is having a positive impact on both the community and the Police Department, was approved to keep the project funded through December 31, 2026, or the end of ARPA. The Council also pledged ARPA funds to backfill two years of deficit in the General Fund, which I hope is not necessary at the levels committed.

Another area of uncertainty was the City election. We saw three long-tenured Council members not pursue an additional term, which is a large loss of experience and history. But this resulted in new viewpoints on the City Council and the future of Marshalltown.

I do not think the general public fully appreciates the process of getting elected in November, being sworn in in early January, and immediately attending Council meetings where you have to understand and make decisions on a budget for the upcoming year. This group of elected officials handled it with ease, asking great questions, and learning a lot in a short amount of time to feel comfortable in their new decision-making roles.

And it is hard to pass over COVID-19 as a creator of uncertainty in the last fiscal year. The City has approximately 200 full and part-time employees that perform very specific functions to serve the community, and COVID made that difficult at times. This created angst and anxiety for the health of our co-workers, as well as continuing to provide the high levels of service the community expects. I had COVID in late January and while I did not experience a severe case, it was still an uncertain time for me of being out of the office at our busiest time of the year.

Looking ahead, I am not sure that we have gained much certainty for the next fiscal year. However, the one thing I have learned through our past disasters is that having a team around you that has sound judgment and can make decisions is one way to get through tough times and come out better on the other side. And the City of Marshalltown is well-positioned to take on any challenges fiscal year 2023 might have to offer.

——

Jessica Kinser is the Marshalltown city administrator.