City Administrator Performance Review

 

As she has been in the position for a year, it’s a good enough time to assess the performance of Lisa Kotter, interim city administrator. Far and wide, especially the Dubuque County Supervisors praised Kotter’s presentation that netted the city a million $ for Cascade’s new library. I agree it was savvy and impressive. Tech and construction types I spoke with find her accurate and easy to work with.

What has her year here brought ordinary citizens?

·         Increased expense if you are going to build anything. Not long after she settled in Kotter promoted a new scheme for building permits that will increase the cost and force an inspection by someone from ECIA. Now Cascaders who formerly paid $25 for a permit, (arguably too little), must now pay as much as $250 for a building inspection, arguably too much.

·         Someone complained that she dominates city council meetings. Having been to most, I can attest to that. What she dominates them with—ideas of how the city can borrow more money and remain within the parameters of the law--I find more dangerous than the fact that she is glib, well-informed and domineering. The pool isn’t paid off; we need a new street sweeper, and we should be very cautious about additional debt.

·         In the fall of 2021, (Greg Staner was still mayor) I introduced a flood control provision, which I thought was passed as part of the Storm Water Ordinance. However, this fall Kotter issued a building permit to someone in this neighborhood who has covered more than 90% of his property with hard surfaces. When I complained and tried put the hard surfaces ordinance back on the agenda, she refused to do so, and said it would be “an administrative nightmare.”

 Ironically enough, while she can’t support an ordinance to curtail flooding in the low spots by the river, she sees no problem with administrating the Nuisance Ordinance that Council will pass on Monday night. This will allow the city to go onto anyone's property the city decides isn't taking care of it appropriately, and take legal action against the person. So citizens can be forgiven for concluding that what they have gotten from Kotter's tenure here is: 1) more expense and 2) less democracy.