With Mayo’s $5B Rochester expansion, the city says it needs to expand too

ROCHESTER – This city could get as much as $22 million in additional revenue over the next six years from ongoing Mayo Clinic construction, according to area officials.

That projected revenue could more than offset the cost to hire more staff in anticipation of the upcoming glut of construction across Rochester, city officials told the City Council on Monday during a study session.

The revenue would largely come from building permits and right-of-way work related to Mayo’s $5 billion downtown expansion. It would cover the 14 full-time positions city staff say they need over the next two years to handle permit processing and inspections.

That would include another assistant city administrator, a construction director and several supervisors and inspectors, among other staff. Those positions would cost close to $12 million through 2030, according to city estimates.

Besides Mayo’s growth, an upcoming $143 million bus rapid transit line to be built over the next two years will also require city staffing. That doesn’t take into account city projects, including parking ramps, sewer line replacements and street reconstruction.

“We already know that [2025] is going to be a big year for us,” Deputy Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said.

The requests come amid retirement and employee retention concerns in city offices.

Rochester officials say staff are overburdened in the wake of the city’s rapid growth in recent years. The city has doubled in size and population since the 1980s, but city staff has only grown by about 17% in the same time frame.

In addition, about 150 police, public works and community development staff will be eligible for retirement within the next decade.

Council members said they were cautiously optimistic about adding staff. Several agreed the city appears to need more people to keep construction projects on time, but they also called for more oversight, worried that funding may not match city estimates.

“I don’t want these things being unclear, therefore it goes into the general fund and goes onto the levy,” Council Member Patrick Keane said.