In my last column, we went over the Marshalltown Mayors position, let’s do more basics. (You did read the last one….right?)

Let’s talk City Council. After 6 years as Councilor At Large and 5 years representing Ward 1, I think I have a pretty good handle on what the job entails.

The City Council consists of 7 voting members.

4 Ward seats and 3 At-Large seats.

The Ward seats are currently held by:

Ward 1 – Marco A. Yepez Gomez

Ward 2 Mark Mitchell

Ward 3 Greg Nichols

Ward 4 Melisa Fonseca

The At-Large Councilors are:

Sue Cahill

Jeff Schneider

Gary Thompson

Most people think that their Ward Councilor is “their person.” That is false. Along with your Ward Councilor, you also have all 3 At-Large people as your representatives. The theory being that you can have a majority of the Council at your disposal if needed.

Like the Mayor, City Council is considered a part-time, salaried position. Councilors are paid $5,500 per year with a very small amount going to IPERS. Also, like the Mayor, a Councilor position does not have any other kinds of benefits.

One Councilor is chosen by the Mayor as Mayor Pro-Tem (Deputy Mayor) in the event that the Mayor is away and cannot attend a meeting or event. I chose Jeff Schnieder for our Mayor Pro-Tem for the next 4 years.

Councilors are elected for 4 years, with their terms staggered for good reason. With all of the complexities of the budgeting process plus policies and protocols, it’s good to have some experienced Councilors to give guidance if needed.

The true power of Marshalltown’s government rests with the 7 members of the City Council.

All budget decisions, resolutions, ordinances and direction rest on their shoulders and votes. City councilors can also request that certain items be placed on the agenda for consideration if it has not been discussed and acted upon previously.

Councilors also serve on various city committees.

A few examples are:

Mark and Marco serve the city on the Executive Board of the Marshall County Solid Waste Management Committee. Jeff serves as Mayor Pro-Tem, plus is involved with the Chamber of Commerce and the EMS group. Greg is on the the 4th of July Committee, Sue serves on the Marshalltown Homeless Task Force, Melisa is on the Diversity in Leadership group, Gary served on the Pet Ordinance Group that rewrote much of the city’s laws regarding pets.

Probably the biggest single task for councilors is balancing the city budget. This process starts in January and lasts over 4 months. The 4 months are filled with tough decisions and votes, but like every year, we must have a balanced budget by Iowa Code.

City councilors are also to conduct themselves in a respectful manner at all meetings as well as anyone at the meeting. I have yet to see a problem that was solved by everyone yelling at each other. Respect and transparency always.

I think Marshalltown has elected a very good City Council. Very diverse and differing ages that represent the city well. Many times there are split votes on different items, and that is just fine. Bob Schubert taught many councilors that just because they may oppose each other on issues and votes, when the gavel sounds, respect should still be given. They earned that chair.

Next up, City Staff.

“You don’t rise to the levels of your goals. You fall to the level of your habits. Dreams are easy. Discipline is rare. What you do on the hard days matters more than what you do on the easy ones.”

——-

Mike Ladehoff is the mayor of Marshalltown.