With its process of electing a mayor who shares power with a city council and has fewer executive functions, the City of Burlington operates under what is known as a “weak mayor” system.
Yet when Burlington Mayor Jon Billups talks about his community, the strength of his commitment belies that political designation.
A native of Burlington, Billups was a young entrepreneur at the age of 13, when he opened his own custom skateboard shop. He also worked for his father at Billups’ Tire store for 38 years.
“When he passed away in 2011, it just wasn’t as much fun anymore.”
The tire store soon closed, and Billups became circulation director for the Burlington Hawk Eye newspaper, then later worked at Pritchard Broadcasting. He was elected to the Burlington City Council in 2017, and currently works full time at Burlington Notre Dame school as development director, as well as being in charge of marina operations at Bluff Harbor Marina with business partner John Archer. He first stepped into the mayor’s role in 2019.
The Honorable Billups is now entering the second year of his second two-year term as mayor, and he is as excited to share the city’s past achievements as he is to look forward to what comes next.
“It’s going to be a good year for Burlington,” Billups predicted.
If so, it will sustain the uphill trend Billups has seen in recent years, and is confident will continue. While Burlington’s residential population has not grown, at around 24,900 people, Billups thinks neighboring small towns have grown a bit, in part because they are situated to take advantage of Burlington’s amenities.
What’s good for Burlington is good for whole county
“I think we have had a big city effect,” he said. “When I say Burlington, for me it’s the whole county. What’s good for Burlington is good for the county and surrounding towns.” And vice-versa, he added.
Billups listed some of those amenities he says visitors find remarkable: the riverfront, with plenty of community-wide activities and free entertainment events; a recreation complex that hosts regional soccer, softball and sand volleyball tournaments; an expanding trail system and an indoor ice skating rink planned for next year.
Billups is equally enthusiastic about improvements to Dankwardt Park, a $1.9 million project that will create an all-inclusive environment to accommodate people of differing abilities. The park is the city’s most active, he said, with disc golf, bike and skateboard ramps, ball fields, an archery course and pool.
“Our playground will be accessible, and right next to other activities so families can be there together,” he said. “That’s our goal. It will be a destination playground.”
Those kinds of recreational opportunities are just a part of what Billups sees as improving the quality of life in the city. The Greater Burlington Partnership comprises a strong chamber of commerce, an economic development group, convention and visitors’ bureau, and Downtown, Inc., all of which are working to promote continued economic growth in the community. Billups said that kind of collaboration between organizations sharing similar needs is a good way to get things done.
Building a third fire station
Plans are in the works to build a third fire station, with input from officials in West Burlington, to serve the residents of the northwest side of town. In addition, several major private developments will offer new residential and commercial opportunities in the downtown area, such as the Tama Complex and Churchill Lofts Apartments, the restoration of a large building on Washington Street by Merge Urban Development, and the Western Smokehouse and Meat Market, which is slated to open in May and create 150 jobs.
“The way we were able to get that done, and quickly, was when they indicated an interest, the Greater Burlington Partnership brought all the players to the table with city staff so we could answer all the potential client’s questions all at once. By having a keys-to-the-city type of approach, it makes it so much easier for businesses who want to come here,” said Billups.
Success breeds success for all.
“Every time a building improves in value, it helps the other citizens in town,” said Billups.
Perhaps less flashy but as important are things like a commitment to separation of the city’s wastewater and storm sewers, the phased flood wall project, an enhancement of the city’s residential tax abatement policies, and on-going street construction and riverfront renovations made possible by $25 million in federal funds from a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. That project was refined through two-and-a-half years of public input meetings, Billups noted.
Billups knows people impacted by street construction may have tired of it, and acknowledges it will be a while before it is all done, but it is part of an aggressive Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) with an eye toward efficiency by doing road projects in a comprehensive manner.
“One concept we agree on as a city is to do a one-time, do-it-all-right rebuild of a street,” Billups explained. “Let’s take care of sewer, water, utility needs… and dig it up once so we can walk away from it for a few years.”
Billups said all the roadwork is a catalyst for further development.
“Once we get the main arterial roads done, if you take that same amount of investment yearly, we can go in and start knocking out (road work in) the neighborhoods,” he said. “That kind of money in neighborhoods can go a lot further.”
Keeping tax levy the same
All of this has been accomplished in a way that has allowed the city council to target a cap on its debt limit and keep the property tax levy rate the same for the last five years, Billups added, a goal not always achievable in other cities around the state. A hotel/motel tax and one percent Local Option Sales Tax, voted in by the citizens of Burlington, has helped.
Billups credits many players for the optimistic outlook on Burlington’s future, including officials from Des Moines County, sister-city West Burlington, and the many civic organizations who have come together on Burlington’s behalf.
It wasn’t always that way, Billups noted. He said Burlington has suffered from “negative self-love” in the past.
“In the ‘80s…Burlington was dead. But community leaders, volunteers and city government all kept working at it,” he said. “Especially in the last 10 years, we are seeing a revitalization that is just unheard of.”
Civic groups and city officials that previously worked in isolation started coming up with creative ways to work together for economic development, infrastructure and quality of life issues, he noted. “Over the last five years, everybody at least agrees on what direction north is. That’s where we want to go.”
People don’t always agree on the ways to get there, Billups said, but he believes compromise is what made America great to begin with, and most people want the same thing in the end; for Burlington to thrive. He feels fortunate to follow former Mayor Shane McCampbell, who raised the visibility of the mayor’s position, and a previous city manager who instilled good values about government transparency and communication. To that end, Billups touts the city’s website with its abundance of information, city personnel who are active on social media, and a city newsletter that keeps people up-to-date. Billups himself frequently uses social media– “I’ve been described as the Facebook Mayor,” he added– to answer questions, provide accurate information, correct misconceptions and make himself available for open dialogue. He feels people deserve to understand the thought processes behind the decisions made by city leaders.
“Much to the chagrin of my wife, my cell phone number is plastered throughout town,” he laughed. “I encourage people to call me. I do my best to listen to the citizens and use their ideas to impact what we are doing.”
Giving credit to others
Another group which deserves a lot of credit, Billups added, is the city staff, led by City Manager Chad Bird.
“I don’t think most citizens realize how good our city staff is,” he said. “They are, on balance, absolutely outstanding. It’s eye-opening how much they care about their community and want Burlington to be better. Our goal is to make ourselves a little bit better every day.”
It’s a big goal in these times of economic uncertainty, pandemic recovery and workforce struggles, but Billups stays focused on the plus column.
“We live here. We don’t always realize how great Burlington is,” said Billups. “We have a lot of corporate investment, we have a lot of great mom-and-pop places, shopping restaurants, bars, amenities…really, we are a hidden gem here on the riverfront.
“We are really blessed.”
