IaCMA's Senior Advisor Program

  • The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Iowa City/County Management Association (IaCMA) established the Iowa Senior Advisor Program “to bring the counsel, experience, and support of highly respected (retired) city management professionals to the assistance of their members.”

  • Iowa’s Senior Advisors wear many hats, but the most important one is to be available to managers, assistants, and other municipal employees wanting to talk about their problems, jobs, or careers or just to talk with “someone who has been there.”

  • All discussions are on a confidential basis and at no cost to the employee.  The program is designed to help with personal and professional issues but not designed to provide technical assistance or to solve substantive problems of government. Examples of concerns are typically discussed with the Senior Advisors include:

              -Mayor/Council/Manager/Admin relations.
              -General Management Issues.
              -Career Development and Opportunities.
              -Major Personnel Problems.
              -Job Search: Where, How and When.
              -Employment and Severance Agreements.
              -Job Enrichment.
              -Best Preparation for City Management.

  •  Local government employees wanting to talk about their jobs or careers are encouraged to call one of the Iowa Senior Advisors. This program is available for any local government employees- not just managers or administrators.

 

IaCMA Senior Advisors
Gerald L. Clausen

Email

Phone: (531) 739-8806

Gerald was born and raised on a farm near Bloomfield, Nebraska. He has production agriculture, deputy county treasurer and banking in his work history. He took his first municipal management position in Bloomfield, later moving to Sheldon, IA and retiring at Carroll, IA after twenty-two years as City Manager of Carroll. He is the father of three grown children, all residing in Nebraska.

Gerald has attended more than 20 ICMA Annual Conferences and numerous National League of Cities Leadership Summits. He has served on the boards of IaCMA and Iowa League of Cities and received awards from both. He was active in economic development in each assignment and was the lead recruiter when Bloomfield brought Milton G. Waldbaum egg laying facility with 100+ jobs to Bloomfield. He has served on several ICMA committees.

Lifelong learning is his constant interest and he reads newspapers, magazines, online material (with healthy skepticism) and lately zoom conferencing. He is a trained mediator, labor negotiator and lay minister. He offers professional services as a facilitator, mediator and planner. He has travelled extensively throughout the United States (48 states) Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

When asked to give advice, he will likely reply, “I am not an expert, just an experienced manager,” and he sees his role as listening, consoling, encouraging and conversing. If you call, he will share some of his “harrowing experiences”.



For more information or inquiries, please call the Iowa City/County Management Association (c/o Iowa League of Cities, Mickey Shields, at (515) 244-7282 or email: mickeyshields@iowaleague.org).