Latest news with #Raftelis
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rochester City Council to keep focus on affordable housing during strategic priorities discussion
Mar. 23—ROCHESTER — Support for affordable living has been a defined Rochester City Council priority since 2021, and the related issue of housing remains on the minds of a new council. "In interviews, council members identified housing access as one of the community's most daunting challenges," states a report by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Raftelis as the Rochester council prepares to review and update its strategic priorities. The report links cost to part of the housing challenge, pointing out the percentage of cost-burdened renters in the city — those paying more than 30% of their income toward housing — has risen from 44% in 2019 to 52% in 2023. During the same period, the Raftelis report states median home values have risen by 41%, from $229,800 to $324,200, resulting in 24% of homeowners holding mortgages that leave them cost burdened. It's compared to 31% of Americans — renters and homeowners — who reported being cost burdened by housing. The concerns follow a 2024 community survey, which indicates only 21% of Rochester residents surveyed stated the availability of affordable quality housing in the city is good or excellent, which was up from 16% in 2022. In a recent Vision 2050 report, led by Mayor Kim Norton, residents identified housing as the top investment priority for the next 25 years. Rochester council members will discuss the issue, along with other potential city priorities during their 3:30 p.m. study session Monday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room, 4000 East River Road NE. It's a follow-up to a Jan. 27 session that provided initial council insights. Since the first session, consultants from Raftelis have interviewed council members individually, talked to leadership from city departments and met with residents who head city boards and commissions. The results of those discussions will be presented on Monday, along with questions aimed at developing a new strategic priority framework. While housing emerged as a key challenge amid conversations, city strengths also were highlighted. For council members, strengths cited were collaborative efforts inside city government, as well as with outside groups. The Raftelis report states department leaders also noted compassion as a strength, alongside the municipality's ability to perform beyond its size, pointing to amenities and initiatives more likely to be found in larger cities. Board and commission leaders also pointed to the city's amenities being on a larger scale than what might be expected in a city of roughly 125,000. "A number of members shared that they love the excellent parks, trails and recreational offerings," the Raftelis report states. "When asked about what makes Rochester unique, the group noted that Rochester is unique compared to other municipalities in that it has such a strong economic driver in Mayo Clinic." When it comes to maintaining the level of amenities and service, city department leaders said challenges related to managing expectations amid community growth and limited resources, especially amid federal changes that could limit the ability to execute certain projects. With insights from Monday's conversation, the Raftelis consultants plan to work with city staff to prepare a draft strategic framework for the council to review, with a potential vote on the proposal as early as April. Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of March 24 include: Rochester —City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room, 4000 East River Road NE. The meeting will not be livestreamed or available on cable, but it will be recorded and posted later at —Public Utility Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room. —Library Board, 4 p.m. Thursday in the first-floor meeting room of the Rochester Public Library, 101 Second St. SE. Olmsted County —Soil and Water Conservation District Board, 8 a.m. Thursday in conference room 109 at 1188 50th St. SE Rochester. Rochester Public Schools —School Board, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW. Destination Medical Center —DMC Corp. executive committee, 3 p.m. Wednesday at Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firm with Kansas roots selected to lead search for next Salina city manager
Two former professional leaders of Kansas cities will be helping Salina in its search for a new manager following a decision by the Salina City Commission. The commission voted to engage in a contract with Government Professional Solutions, or GPS, after interviewing the firm along with three other firms. Chris Lowe, who worked as the city administrator of Baldwin, now runs GPS with Bret Bauer, who led Holton as its administrator. Lowe met with the commission over Zoom to speak on how the firm would conduct its search before answering questions from the commission. GPS was chosen over other firms interviewed: Baker Tilly, Strategic Government Resources and Raftelis. After hearing from all four firms in separate 30-minute interview and question times, the commission deliberated about which firm to use in the search. "I don't think we're going to have a bad choice here," said Commissioner Trent Davis. He noted that the processes for each of the firms were relatively similar to each other, a sentiment shared with the other commissioners as well. Commissioner Mike Hoppock said while listening to each of the firms presentations he was really down to two of the firms, either GPS or Raftelis. He said one of the things he took away from the interviews is that the number of people that may be interested in taking a city manager job, no matter the location, is a much smaller pool than expected. "I do believe as a community we're in a better position now," he said. "We should be more attractive." One of the deciding factors for choosing GPS over Raftelis for Hoppock was the familiarity with Salina. "That brings some merit," he said. "(Lowe) spoke about specific things." While there was familiarity to the community, Hoppock said the fact that GPS works in other states, including Colorado where Lowe now lives, Texas and others, there is a wider net cast for potential applicants than just Kansas. Another positive for GPS came from the fact that during the interview Lowe said there were some people he already had in mind when thinking about the Salina job. In the end, two votes were taken, the first to engage with Raftelis, which failed 2-3, and a second, to engage with GPS, which passed 5-0. All of the commissioners said they would have been happy if either of the two firms were selected. "I think that was a win-win," said Mayor and Commissioner Greg Lenkiewicz. "And we have a decision made." This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Search for Salina's next city manager to be led by Kansas-rooted firm
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rochester council weighs city priorities
Jan. 27—ROCHESTER — A review of the city's key priorities kicked off Monday with the Rochester City Council comparing notes on where the city sits today and what might be a goal for the next decade. "The fact that we have a large turnover creates the opportunity for new ideas," Rochester City Council member Norman Wahl said during the first of two council sessions aimed at setting strategic priorities for the city. The council went through a similar practice in 2023, after Wahl became the sole new council member, but he pointed out the priorities remained largely unchanged, targeting affordable living, economic vibrancy and growth management, and quality services. With four new council members serving their first weeks in office, they cited an appreciation of reviewing city priorities, building from comments heard during their 2024 campaigns and finding ways to intertwine various council viewpoints. "I hope to get out of this process an increased camaraderie with the other elected officials, as well as city staff," council member Dan Doering said. As one of the two senior members, council member Patrick Keane said he anticipates the council discussion will spur some changes to priorities and how they are defined. "Things have changed since 2021, when we first established these," he said. City Administrator Alison Zelms said the outcome of the discussions about the priorities will serve to guide future work of city staff, since they will be used to create an action plan for future staff work. She said department heads were gathered with the council Monday to better understand what elected officials will prioritize in the upcoming years. Leading the council through a series of exercises designed to provide a high-level look at existing priorities and goals, Julia Novak, executive vice president of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Raftelis, said the goal is to create a unified set of strategic priorities for the council to adopt, whether it builds on the existing priories or redefines them. "It is important ... for the governing body, for the elected officials, to come together on this," the session facilitator said. "When you all reinforce where you are going, it sends a very clear message to your staff team on how to align programs and resources to achieve that." With the first group discussion completed Monday, Novak said staff members from Raftelis will reach out to all council members individually in the upcoming weeks to talk about priorities and goals. While council member Andy Friederichs was absent Monday due to a scheduling conflict, Novak said he will be part of the individual interview process. Raftelis staff will also hold an online session with key city members in February to get a better understanding of the current priorities and how they are implemented. Once all the information is gathered, Novak said the council will meet again on March 24 to review the gathered insights and compare notes, which will spur the creation of a proposed document defining priorities that will be used to create action plans to achieve the established goals. Zelms said if the March council discussion goes well and provides the necessary directives, a formal report could be considered for adoption in April. Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said she's hoping the process provides a chance to update the existing priorities to address the city's needs as they continue to change. "It's important for me to have a lot of discussion upfront on issues, so we are together," she said, adding that the ongoing process will help create common goals.
