Dubuque Selected to Join Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special Assistant ProgramCity of Dubuque
City Council
ACTION ITEMS # 8.
Copyrighted
August 18, 2025
ITEM TITLE: Dubuque Selected to Join Economic Mobility and Opportunity
Special Assistant Program
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending City Council approval to
participate in the International City/County Management
Association (ICMA) Economic Mobility and Opportunity
Special Assistant Program.
SUGGUESTED Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
1. MVM Memo
2. Memo Dubuque Selected to Join Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special
Assistants Program.
3. ICMA EMO Special Assistants Program Host Community RFA
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THE CITY OF
DUB E-E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Dubuque
All -America Ciq
IIIr
II
2007.2012.2013
2017*2019
SUBJECT: Dubuque Selected to Join Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special
Assistant Program
DATE: August 12, 2025
Director of Economic Mobility and Neighborhood Support Anderson Sainci is
recommending City Council approval to participate in the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA) Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special Assistant
Program.
The City of Dubuque participation in the program includes hiring a temporary Economic
Mobility Special Assistant position for approximately 2 years. The Economic Mobility
Special Assistant will help advance the City of Dubuque local efforts around economic
mobility. ICMA will cover the Economic Mobility Special Assistant travel expenses to
attend ICMA training, coaching, and other professional development and funding to help
update the Equitable Poverty Reduction & Prevention Plan, created in 2021, to align
with new state and federal guidelines and the National Economic Mobility Framework
created by the Urban Institute.
While ICMA will cover salary and professional development, the City of Dubuque is
responsible for covering health and employee benefits which is a total of $29,894 in
year one. To fund the Economic Mobility Special Assistant benefits in year one, savings
from the FY'26 property insurance premium will be used. In FY'25, property insurance
premium was $1,022,375.50. In FY'26, property insurance budget was $1,179,348. The
FY'26 actual premium is $1,097,994.74 which is $81,353.26 less than budget. The
lower premium is due to stabilization in the property markets, which has kept the City's
renewal with Chubb at less than an 8% increase. Year 2 employee benefit costs would
be included in the FY 2027 budget.
The Economic Mobility Special Assistant will assist in developing new strategies,
policies or programs around key areas including affordable housing, small business and
workforce development and access to public transportation.
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I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Anderson Sainci, Director of Economic Mobility and Neighborhood Support
Jenny Larson, Chief Financial Officer
Jason Lehman, Assistant City Attorney
Laura Bendorf, Budget Manager
Kristen Dietz, Talent Acquisition Manager
Connie Palm, Benefits and Compensation Manager
2
Page 498 of 579
THE CITY OF
DUB_�QTE
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
All-Anerica City
IIIiI.►
2007.2012.2013
2017*2019
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Anderson Sainci, Director of Economic Mobility and
Neighborhood Support
SUBJECT: Dubuque Selected to Join Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special
Assistant Program
DATE: August 12, 2025
BACKGROUND
On March 1, 2021, the City Council formally adopted the Equitable Poverty Reduction &
Prevention (EPRPP) Plan and established the Office of Shared Prosperity and
Neighborhood Support (OSPNS). Over the past four years, the department has been
responsible for implementing the EPRPP plan with city departments and external
partners.
In addition to the EPRPP plan, the department is responsible for supporting and
empowering residents throughout the city to engage with their neighborhood association.
If a neighborhood association does not exist, staff will work directly with interested
residents on forming a new one using a Neighborhood Association Toolkit. Since the
creation of the department, the number of active neighborhood associations has grown
from three to eight. Empowering residents at the neighborhood level has been a priority
for the Mayor and City Council and nationally, has shown to be a key component to
advancing economic mobility.
DISCUSSION
Over the past four years, the department has actively engaged in national networks and
discussions with other municipalities to explore ways to advance economic mobility for
all residents. The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has
offered municipalities tools and resources to help local decision makers address the
financial and social well-being of all residents.
What is Economic Mobility?
According to the International City Management Association (ICMA), economic mobility
is about improving economic and social systems so that low-income residents can
achieve both short and long-term financial stability. It also involves empowering
residents to make their own decisions about their own lives and ensuring they feel
valued and included in their community.
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To align more closely with national efforts and evolving best practices, In FY25, the
department name changed from the Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood
Support to the Office of Economic Mobility and Neighborhood Support.
On May 20, 2025, 1 applied to serve as a host community for the Economic Mobility and
Opportunity Special Assistant Program to meet ICMA original deadline for the
competitive grant. On May 21-23, 2025, 1 presented at the National Economic Mobility
and Opportunity (EMO) Conference. At the conference, ICMA spoke about the EMO SA
and encouraged more municipalities to apply to become a host community. On July 31,
2025, we were notified that the City of Dubuque was one of sixteen municipalities
selected to receive the grant for over two and a half years.
This is the first time the City Council has been presented with this grant, as I
inadvertently did not seek approval prior to the application.
If the City Council approves the grant application, staff will enter into an agreement with
ICMA to host a temporary Economic Mobility Special Assistant (EMO SA) position for
2+ years. The EMO SA will help advance our local efforts around economic mobility.
ICMA will cover the EMO SA travel expenses to attend ICMA training, coaching, and
other professional development and funding to help update the Equitable Poverty
Reduction & Prevention Plan, created in 2021, to align with new state and federal
guidelines and the National Economic Mobility Framework created by the Urban
Institute. While ICMA will cover salary and professional development, the city is
responsible for covering health and employee benefits. The breakdown for the city
coverage is listed below in table 1.
To fund the EMO SA benefits, savings from the FY'26 property insurance premium will
be used. In FY'25, property insurance premium was $1,022,375.50. In FY'26, property
insurance budget was $1,179,348. The FY'26 actual premium is $1,097,994.74 which is
$81,353.26 less than budget. The lower premium is due to stabilization in the property
markets, which has kept the City's renewal with Chubb at less than an 8% increase.
Table 1: Temporary, Full -Time Employee Benefits
Heath Insurance
• Employees pay 15% of the premium costs established for the Health and
Prescription Drug insurance plan.
• Cost will vary based on the tier of coverage the employee selects.
Monthly Premiums for FY26:
Tier Employee Employer Total EE+ER
Employee Only $112.24 $636.02 $748.26
Employee Plus 1 $214.04 $1212.92 $1426.96
Employee Plus Family $341.22 $1933.54 $2274.76
2
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Dental Insurance
• Employees pay 100% of the premium cost of the Dental insurance plan.
Life Insurance with AD&D
• City pays for $25,000 in coverage:
o $3.50 per covered employee for basic life insurance per month.
o $0.50 per covered employee for basic AD&D per month.
IPERS
• The employee contributes 6.29% of eligible earnings and the City contributes.
9.44% of eligible earnings, for a total of 15.73%.
The city would be using $29,894 in year one of the $81,353.26 in savings. See Table 2
for the breakdown
Table 2: Breakdown of health and employee benefits
Health Insurance $13,423
Life Insurance with AD&D $46
IPERS $96,108 (salary) $9,073
FICA 7.65% $7,352
$29,894 first year
Role of the Economic Mobility Special Assistant
The Economic Mobility Special Assistant will assist in developing new strategies,
policies or programs around key areas including affordable housing, small business and
workforce development and access to public transportation.
ACTION REQUIRED
I am requesting the Mayor and City Council approval to participate in the ICMA
Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special Assistant program.
Cc: Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Jenny Larson, Chief Financial Officer
Jason Lehman, Assistant City Attorney
Laura Bendorf, Budget Manager
Kristen Dietz, Talent Acquisition Manager
Connie Palm, Benefits and Compensation Manager
3
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ICMA
ECONOMIC SPECIAL
MOBILITY ASSISTANTS
& OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
Request for Host Community Applications
ICMA's Economic Mobility and Opportunity Special Assistants (EMO SA) Program offers a
rare, significant infusion of resources to bolster local leadership and align actions and
stakeholders around factors that enable all residents to climb the economic ladder.
ICMA invites applications from local governments interested in hosting a full-time, senior
level position to spearhead coordinated efforts to advance economic mobility and
opportunity for residents.
Local governments selected for this opportunity will receive a grant from ICMA to support
salary for and programming directed by their special assistant. Reporting to executive
leadership in the local government, the EMO SAwill work across departments and external
partners to identify strategic priorities and develop a tailored implementation plan
informed by a community -engaged co -design process during their 2+ year tenure. ICMA
will also facilitate coaching, training, and customized technical assistance to support EMO
SAs, individually and as a cohort. ICMA anticipates selecting 15 local governments to serve
as host communities for EMO SAs.
This opportunity is made possible with support from the Gates Foundation.
ELIGIBILITY
• Applications must be submitted by U.S. local governments.
• The application must identify at least one active, full ICMA member among the
local government's executive leadership.
• Local governments selected for this opportunity must have capacity to support
their special assistant with a typical full-time employee benefits package.
IDEAL HOST COMMUNITIES
• A medium-sized city or county with existing awareness of and motivation to
improve local workforce development opportunities, housing affordability,
household financial security, and other community conditions that make it
possible for residents to live full, prosperous lives.
• A local government with a supportive and collaborative organizational culture.
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PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS
• Local governments selected for this opportunity will receive a grant to pay for salary
to support an EMO SA for 2+ years, as well as additional support for local
programming, travel to program convenings, and other activities. We anticipate
supporting these positions for 30 months, but the exact level and length of support
is subject to final budget review. Host communities are also required to provide
supplemental salary as necessary; health, and other benefits; contributions to
retirement; and paid time off.
• The EMO SA supported by this grant is expected to be dedicated full-time to EMO
work at a senior level, reporting directly to executive leadership in the local
government. Local governments selected to host an EMO SA can either develop a
completely new position or re -work an existing position that is focused on
comprehensive economic mobility strategies to meet these requirements.
• Each local government will be able to tailor the job description for their EMO SA
and will manage the hiring process with input and support from ICMA. ICMA will
share basic expectations and requirements of the position, help advertise the
opportunity, and coordinate with the local government on hiring and onboarding.
• Within six months of hiring, the EMO SA will launch a co -design process with
internal and external partners to clarify local priorities. Additionally, over the course
of their tenure, the EMO SA will be expected to develop a new or expand a current
local resource network of stakeholders and partners committed to advancing
economic mobility for all residents.
• EMO SAs, and other representatives of the local government as possible, are
expected to attend annual convenings of the program and participate in virtual
orientation and other meetings as needed. Local governments will also be required
to support their EMO SA in submitting an annual report as well as periodic updates
highlighting successes and challenges.
• The EMO SA and their community are expected to create a strategy for maintaining
the position and/or identifying additional/alternative approaches to continue the
jurisdiction's EMO journey beyond the funded time.
HOW TO APPLY
Local governments interested in participating are encouraged to submit applications
accessible via http://www.icma.org/emo-sa no later than May 30,2025, 5 prn PT June 6,
2025, 5 pm PT (deadline extended). Applications include questions on the types of
economic mobility challenges faced by residents in your community, your local
government's commitment to and any work undertaken to address these issues, including
strategic plans, priorities, or partnerships you have established. The application also
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includes questions on how the position will be supported by executive leadership and
proposed compensation and benefits. Application questions are provided for reference at the
end of this document.
Following the application review, ICMA will shortlist potential host communities and may
conduct follow-up interviews. ICMA will then select 15 communities to serve as host
communities. Each chosen community will work directly with ICMA to draft a job
description for a special assistant that centers economic mobility while meeting the
specific needs of the community. ICMA will help to promote the position and support each
local government's internal hiring process, with the intention that the EMO SAs will be
hired by fall 2025.
SELECTION PROCESS
Local governments will be evaluated on:
• Understanding of local economic mobility and community needs
• Demonstrated commitment to improving economic mobility and opportunity for
their residents
• Organizational capacity to advance community -wide economic mobility and
opportunity strategies
• Demonstrated commitment to cross -sector partnerships
• An organizational culture and commitment from executive leadership to effectively
support an EMO SA
In selecting host sites, ICMA will also aim to ensure geographic, demographic, and
economic diversity across the participating local governments.
ANTICIPATED TIMELINE
• April 16, 2025: Applications open for host communities
• April 30, 2025: Information and Q&A session via Zoom, register here
• May 30, 2025 (5 pm PT): Application closer
• June 6, 2025 (5pm PT): Application closes (deadline extended)
• Early June 2025: Shortlist of local governments developed and ICMA may conduct
interviews
• Mid -June 2025: 15 selected local governments notified (subject to change)
• Fall 2025: Special Assistants to be hired by local governments
• Q4 2025: In -person convening of program participants (subject to change)
CONTACT
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If you have any questions regarding eligibility, participation, or project requirements, please
contact us at emo@icma.org.
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APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Applications should be submitted via the online form (link also accessible via
https://icma.org/emo-sa) no later than May 30, 2025, 5 pm PT. The information
requested in the online application is previewed below for your planning purposes.
Please note that questions marked with an asterisk (*) require a response.
Applicant Background Information*
Name of Local Government
State
2020 Census Population
2020 Census Median Household Income
2025 General Fund Budget
Percentage of Population in Poverty
Percentage of Population at or below 200% Federal Poverty Line, if known (optional
to answer)
Primary Contact Information*
Primary Contact Name [First, Last]
Position
Email
Phone Number
ICMA Membership Requirement*
Local governments applying to host an EMO SA must have at least one full ICMA
member in an executive leadership role (e.g., chief administrative officer, deputy or
assistant chief administrative officer). Please identify the individual that meets this
requirement.
Name [First, Last]
Position
Email
Phone number
Short Answers
1. What are the primary challenges to upward economic mobility faced by residents in
your community? Explain both the known barriers and the populations most
impacted by these issues.* (max: 250 words)
2. Describe how your local government currently prioritizes upward mobility and
opportunity for its residents. Please highlight any examples of existing programs and
relevant priorities of your governing body.* (max: 250 words)
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a) Please share links to or upload any documents such as existing plans
(comprehensive, strategic, sustainability, economic mobility) or strategies
that support these efforts. (max: 3 files; optional)
3. What organizational capacity challenges currently hinder your local government from
planning or implementing holistic upward mobility and opportunity initiatives for your
community?* (max: 250 words)
4. In addition to coordination across the local government, EMO SAs are expected to
facilitate deep engagement of the community and external partners to inform
strategic priorities and implementation of activities during their tenure. Given these
expectations, please describe any existing internal/external collaborations, coalitions,
networks, or other relevant models that could support these efforts.* (max: 250
words)
5. How does your local government's organizational culture support innovation,
creativity, and working across silos?* (max: 250 words)
6. The special assistant is expected to be dedicated full-time to EMO work at a senior
level, reporting directly to executive leadership in the local government. Local
governments selected to host an EMO SA can either develop a completely new
position or re -work an existing position that is focused on comprehensive economic
mobility strategies to meet these requirements, and can give the EMO SA a
functional title that aligns with their existing staff structure. Please describe the
following:*
a) How will this position engage with executive leadership within your local
government? (max: 100 words)
b) Do you anticipate creating an entirely new role or adapting an existing
position? If you propose modifying an existing position, describe any
adaptations necessary to meet the full-time focus on EMO and senior -level
reporting requirements. Include a potential functional title for the EMO SA, if
known. (max: 150 words)
c) What is the proposed compensation for this role, commensurate with your
local government's compensation structure?
d) Describe the benefits your local government will provide to the EMO SA.
(Note: while salary support will be provided through grant funding, host local
governments are expected to cover benefits for the EMO SAs.)
7. If relevant, upload an existing job description that you plan to tailor for this program.
(optional)
8. Is there any other information we should consider at this time? (optional)
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