Cedar Rapids council approves lower membership fee with Metro Economic Alliance

In the wake of a request by Cedar Rapids mayor Tiffany O’Donnell last month to re-evaluate the city’s relationship with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the city council Aug. 8 approved a “baseline” $25,000 CRMEA membership fee for the upcoming fiscal year. The decision comes after Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell asked to remove Cedar Rapids' $75,000 Economic Alliance membership renewal from consideration as part of the council’s July 25 consent agenda. The move was unusual, as the consent agenda comprises a list of council actions generally considered routine and non-controversial, often approved as a block under a single motion. In asking to remove the membership renewal resolution from the July 25 meeting agenda, Ms. O’Donnell said she wanted city leaders to “take a closer look at what that looks like for us for the coming year.” “I felt that it would be prudent to hold off and dig a little bit deeper into what the city’s doing and what the Economic Alliance is doing,” she said, “making sure that we’re not duplicating services and that we’re all aligned with the same goals for the city.” After the meeting, Ms. O’Donnell said, an ad hoc committee of city leaders and council members convened to discuss “services that we receive from the Economic Alliance in a variety of ways,” and a resolution for a $25,000 CRMEA membership fee was unanimously approved without discussion as part of the council’s Aug. 8 consent agenda. Regarding the reduced Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance membership fee, Ms. O’Donnell said the city’s economic development efforts have expanded dramatically since the CRMEA was formed in 2012 via a merger of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Priority One groups. “What we've noticed is that we've taken on more duties, especially related to economic development, that an Economic Alliance formed 10 years ago would do,” she said this week, “so as we build our economic development team within the city, we’re finding that the landscape is very different than it was 20 years ago.” Since the CRMEA was formed, the city has intensified its economic development efforts, adding two full-time employees focused solely on economic development initiatives, plus an employee dedicated to workforce development. Like the city, the CRMEA also works on economic development and workforce recruitment, she said. However, she noted, the CRMEA is focused more broadly on the metro area and its surrounding communities, not specifically on Cedar Rapids. “First and foremost, the city council understands and values the role of the Economic Alliance and its work with the metro area and the region,” Ms. O’Donnell said. “As a city, we are experiencing unprecedented growth because of ambitious goals, and we're finding that it's important that we have city teams that are laser-focused on the city’s economic development.” Ms. O’Donnell also noted that the city’s relationship with the CRMEA goes well beyond membership dues, noting that the city council devotes financial support to several joint initiatives with the CRMEA, including workforce recruitment and downtown visioning efforts. “A $25,000 base membership still makes us one of the largest investors in the (CRMEA),” she said. “Our relationship with the EA remains strong as a metro and regional partner. This really allows us to use our resources at the alliance in a more targeted way. So we will continue our financial support of specific initiatives with specific outcomes. As a council, we felt it was necessary for us to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and make sure that we are putting our resources directly towards initiatives that have clearly outlined goals.” Ms. O’Donnell said she hasn’t formally spoken to CRMEA leaders about the membership fee, but stressed the city plans to continue its commitment to the CRMEA for the long term. “Over the last year, we’ve had multiple insightful conversations about ways to partner in this changing landscape,” she said. “We will continue to fund workforce development initiatives, the downtown vision plan, the farmers markets and other efforts. So the city by no means is cutting off funding to the EA.” CRMEA executive director Doug Neumann said in July he welcomed a formal discussion with Cedar Rapids leaders. “Business leaders are eager to meet with Mayor O’Donnell to resolve her concerns and continue what for many decades has been a strong and essential partnership,” he said in a written statement. CRMEA representatives declined comment after the Aug. 8 meeting.