New Muscatine city administrator completes first week
By DAVID HOTLE – Muscatine Journal, Iowa (TNS)
Looking back on his interview as a candidate for Muscatine city administrator, Matthew Mardesen remembers being on the same page with the city council and the department heads, as if they were just having a conversation.
That conversation turned into a job, as he started as city administrator last week.
Mardesen’s first week on the job was hectic, he said, but very positive. He hit the ground running, spending the first week with several department heads working on the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
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Matthew Mardesen recently finished his first week as Muscatine city administrator. He spent much of his time meeting department heads and making plans for the budget for the coming year.
He referred several times to the 600-page-plus budget for this year to learn more about how the departments are using funds. While not everyone’s goals can be fulfilled this year, he said he likes the direction Muscatine is going.
“It’s been a great process for me to see what our wants and needs are for 2025-26, and the services each department wants to provide for the city of Muscatine,” he said. “That’s been uplifting. From a professional standpoint, we have a lot of tenured department heads who have been through this process, and it has been good for me to walk through this.”
He said the city is still waiting to learn what its revenues will be. He expects an indication of what the numbers will be the first week of January 2025. In determining the new budget, he hopes to keep the tax rate at least close to the same as it has been.
“We are in good shape,” he said.
On Dec. 16, Mardesen, a veteran city administrator with the cities of Monroe and Nevada, Iowa, began his job as city administrator of Muscatine after the City Council approved his contract on Dec. 6. The city administrator manages the department heads of the city and guides department directors and staff to fulfill the decisions made by the City Council.
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Matthew Mardesen arrived in Muscatine as the new city administrator just in time to begin work on the 2025-26 city budget. Last year’s budget, which he refers back to frequently, was over 600 pages long.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Drake University and is a Certified Public Manager. Mardesen is active in several professional organizations and was named the IaCMA City Manager of the Year in 2019.
Mardesen also had his first council meeting. During the meeting he met a lot of people and helped swear in the city clerk and assistant administrator.
Since arriving, Mardesen has been asking questions such as how Muscatine can provide the same services with a new look and how technology can be used to help.
Among the issues Mardesen wants to address is housing. He hopes to build natural progress from entry-level housing to executive level, and everything in between.
“I think we will strive for those initiatives and focus on what that looks like for Muscatine,” he said.
He said the housing push will have to come with some incentives, such as tax increment financing rebates. He also hopes to fill some existing space, such as downtown buildings and the Muscatine Mall.
Another issue Mardesen looks forward to working on is how Muscatine will grow. He also hopes to find more uses for the Muscatine riverfront.
In the coming weeks, Mardesen is continuing budget discussions and looking at revenues.
“It’s been such a busy week for me,” he said. “It’s been good.”
Photos: State Top 10 Finalists Brooklyn Frantz (Dance) and Emma Lamp (Color Guard) perform at Legacy Dance Competition (Nov. 9, 2024)
Brooklyn Frantz and Emma Lamp, Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association Top 10 State Finalists in solos, performed on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at the Legacy Dance Competition at Davenport Central High School. Frantz, who competes for Wilton High School, will compete for the state title in Class VII Dance while Lamp, who competes for Louisa-Muscatine, will battle in Class I Color Guard at the state championships in December.
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