City Council - Regular Meeting

We have a proclamation and I will read it first. It states that 15 September until 15 October will be recognized as the national month of the Latino and Hispanic heritage, a period to honor the invaluable contribution of Latinos to the economy and growth of our country, to celebrate their diverse cultures and to work for a stronger, more inclusive and prosperous society for everyone. And since Latinos are people who live in the United States and whose ancestors are from the Caribbean islands, Central America, Mexico and South America, and many of their roots are rooted in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of America, including the Arawaks, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Mayas and the Tainos. And since Latinos speak multiple languages, such as Creole, English, French, native languages and dialects, Portuguese and Spanish, and the term Hispanic refers to Latinos in the United States whose ancestors are from countries where Spanish is a primary language. And since 16% of the population of Des Moines is Latino, we honor the rich history and the invaluable contributions of Latinos in Des Moines, Iowa, since the formation of the state. We recognize the history and the countless contributions that the Latinos in Iowa have made over the years to the nation, the state and our great city. That's why I declare, Connie Bouze, hereby 15 September 2026 to and with 15 October 2026 to Latino Heritage Month and I need everyone to come by. I don't know if everyone, come on girls. And if you want to have the Over-July Festival.

Yes, we want to thank everyone for your presence. Latino Heritage Month is something that really comes from our heart and we are very proud of our culture and background. We want to invite everyone for the fantastic Latino Festival on September 26 and 27. Come dance, come eat, enjoy the culture and enjoy the pleasure. Thank you. Thank you all for your presence. Thank you. Nice to see you. Nice to see you too. Gladly done. Let's take a picture here. Ik heb het al eerder gedaan, maar jij doet het elke keer weer.

Ja. Waarschijnlijk iemand van veertig. Je bent een goede komiek. Vind je hem een goede komiek?

Hij gaat binnenkort op tournee. Administrative meeting of the housing construction associations for Monday 14 September. Take up the list of attendees. Bossin, here.

Simonsen-Vos, here. Baron, here.

Westergaard, here. Mendelbaum, here.

Gato.

Here.

We have a quorum. The second point is the approval of the agenda as presented and or changed.

Proposal to approval.

Second, it is proposed and supported. Please vote.

Lauren, it's me. Keep your card here straight. It's not, I don't see value.

Do you have your card in it? It doesn't work. It doesn't let me. You have to get it out. Onze nieuwe apparaten.

H.M. Laat het repareren, Byron.

Het voorstel is aangenomen, Joe. Het volgende punt is punt drie. Motie ter goedkeuring, edelachtbare. Tweede. Het voorstel is ingediend en gesteund. Stemmen alstublieft. 7 for. Motion taken. The next item is item 4, approval of the transfer of municipal ownership of the housing construction associations to 106 Esther Street, conforms section 32 of the Home Ownership Program.

I submit item 4. Second.

The proposal is submitted and supported. Please vote. 7 for. Motie aangenomen. Het volgende punt is een motie tot sluiting.

Motie ter goedkeuring.

Allen voor? I. We sluiten de vergadering. We komen om 5 uur middags weer bij 1 voor onze reguliere vergadering.

EHM, yes, I don't know. There was something strange, so he took the card out, put it back in, and then...

Wist ik het.

3-2.

Ik wil graag de vergadering van de gemeenteraad van Des Moines openen voor maandag 14 september 2026. Neem alstublieft de presentielijst. Bolsinger. Hier.

Simonsen.

Hier.

Bas.

Hier.

Baron hier. Westergaard hier. Mendelbaum here. Gato.

Here.

We have a quorum. The following point is the approval of the agenda as presented and or changed. This has been changed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The additions are added to the approval list. It concerns the consideration of a special drinking permit for five days for beer and wine for the Christ Viking Church on 5711 South West 9th Street for a fundraising event on September 19, 2026. Under supervision of approval by the department of construction, electricity, fire department, planning and police. Sponsored by myself and mayor Bosssen. Point 43 is entered by the financial department. Point 58 is added to the regular agenda. It is a list of speakers. With that I take the motion for approval.

Second, the motion is submitted and supported. Please vote.

Seven, yes. The motion is adopted. The next point is the approval of the consent agenda. These are the points 3 to 47. These are routine points and will be handled in one go by means of a main vote, without any separate discussion, unless the council, according to the rules, requests to remove a point to treat it separately. At this moment, Vos votes against point 4. Point 29, Mendelbaum wants to say the word. That was 5, I believe, for Vos. Oh, was it 5?

Yes, number 5.

Yes, I said that. I thought 5.

With that, I will present the consent agenda, point 3, as approved.

The motion... ...is submitted and supported. Please vote.

Seven, yes.

The motion is adopted. Let's start with our hearing sessions. Point 48, approval of documents for a land-use agreement with Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity Inc. for the use of comparable properties. Does anyone want to speak about this? You have two minutes.

I serve point 48 in, second.

It is served and supported. Please vote. I know it. 7 yes. Motion taken. Point 49 concerns the second amendment on the fourth revised city-wide revitalization plan to reduce taxes by 31 December 2026 and to keep the possibility for future projects with an added value for that date under the current regulation for tax reduction. Does anyone want to talk about this? I don't see anyone. Ik geef het woord. Ja, dat is prima. Nu geef ik het woord aan de raad.

EHM, ik voel me hier niet prettig bij. Ik denk dat 31 december een te korte termijn is. Als iemand een kavel heeft gekocht en bezig is met het ontwerp van een huis, is het heel goed mogelijk dat ze pas begin volgend jaar kunnen beginnen. Met de bouw. So I don't think that's enough time. I would like to move that date to a much later date, maybe to the late spring.

What if we move it to the end of the fiscal year, to June 30? What is the impact if we move it to the end of this year? We have already talked about this briefly, but... For simplicity, it is best to start from the date on which the taxpayers issue their value determinations, so that we know that construction has begun and that there is a tax value attached to the building. Everything but January 1 would be our responsibility to find out whether they have actually started. But we have inspectors who visit every building, right? They ask for permits. We have an inspector who has to visit every building for which a permit has been requested. So I mean, it should be our responsibility. I mean, we should know whether it is being worked on or not. Yes, there is the customer service. I mean, we discussed this and I was actually on the other side of this debate. I know it's a difficult issue. I have the feeling that this was a compromise. I would actually have gone the other way and shortened it. We discussed this for the first time in June. So I'm ready to move point 49. I realize that this is not ideal, but none of the things we do is ideal from a budgetary point of view. And this is, you know, the determination with tax reduction is that we offer tax reduction with the promise that we will receive income later. And because of the changes in the state, we no longer receive that income later, which was a difficult determination for some inhabitants, even when we got the extra value later. En ik denk dat het nu gewoon financieel onverantwoord wordt. Dus ik ben bereid om punt 49 te verplaatsen. En ik zeg niet dat ik het niet met je eens ben. Ik ben het er alleen mee eens dat het erg moeilijk is om dit voor 31 december af te krijgen. En ik begrijp onze positie. Ik vind het niet prettig. Ik denk dat het onze groei zeker zal beïnvloeden. And in my neighborhood, where we finally have water and railing built on a lot of agricultural land, I don't think anyone will build there now unless we stimulate them to do so. So we'll have to wait and see. I know we have to do this because we actually have no choice and I know it's not something we've caused ourselves. It is very unfortunate, and I think that in any case we should get quarter reports from March about how many building permits we have received, for example what the difference is between year and year. Because it will influence us. We would be crazy to think that it will not affect our growth. We deliver monthly reports, so we can also add the difference with the previous year. Yes, that would be good. So I support that motion and I want to agree with what has been said, including member of parliament Westergaard. Yes. This is not satisfying. I don't know if this is really the best step or the step we would take if we weren't forced to. And that is actually the theme of the disputing moods of tonight. But you know, we have to make a decision here and we have the opportunity to re-evaluate this next year. Maybe the state policy will change, maybe not. Maybe we look at those monthly construction permits and make a different decision on how we want to tackle this. But I think this gives us the opportunity to review it again and make a better under-built decision. Maybe we don't have to be as broad as in the past with the tax reduction, but we can afford more targeted applications if we think that this is the right step. This restart is necessary and in the future we will investigate other possibilities.

So I see it, this is a chance to use a number of other instruments that we have to use and we will just have to use them. And be creative in how we can continue to stimulate and maximize growth. And as far as the balance in the metropolitan region is concerned. Because most municipalities do not offer tax reduction.

But our unruly property tax is much higher, so we already have a competitive disadvantage compared to the suburbs. And so we could, thanks to the tax reduction, lower the prices, at least for a few years, to remain competitive. That is now over and people will choose to build somewhere else. And I understand where we want to go. I'm going to support this. I'm going to vote. Nothing is easy, including the next point we are going to vote on.

I think we should worry about whether we will achieve that 2% growth, because I think there will be a delay of everything. We already see that with commercial buildings and affordable housing. You can't build. You can't afford to build if we don't offer tax reduction and other incentives. So...

Okay. Do you have any idea how many houses will be built in half a year? Just a guess. Yes, how many houses can we expect in half a year? That was all presented during the last conversation, so we still have it. Reminder.

We can still send it.

Okay, yes, I don't know the exact numbers. It's a few hundred to three hundred houses a year. A year, so there are also other kinds of untouchable goods. Just like in half a year. Yes, okay. I think it's good.

Any other comments? If not, then the proposal has been accepted and supported. Please vote. 60 yes, 1 no. The proposal has been adopted. The next point is point 50 about the issuance of a maximum of 42 million in general bonds or capital loans for essential business purposes. 50 is an additional action for the issuance of a maximum of 42 million in general bonds or capital loans for essential business purposes. Nogmaals, wil iemand hierover spreken? We staan relevante opmerkingen toe gedurende twee minuten. Vermeld uw naam en adres of wijk.

Hello, my name is Kevin Nielten. Euclid Avenue 815. E.H.M. It's been a while since I stood here for you. Thank you for your time. E.H.M. Since the last time I was here, I'm retired. E.H.M. So I no longer represent the trade union for Timmerlieden, Local 106. E.H.M. But I speak as a resident. E.H.M. And I have a few questions and also a few comments. EHM, I have been worried about the future of this city for a while now and it seems to me that there is a lack of vision on the direction this city is heading when it comes to economic development. EHM, we have to... ...pull active jobs and development to this city. The conversation that just took place about housing seems to me to be the cart before the horse when we talk about leaving business opportunities. EHM, when I read that the city is having a hard time with the question of whether the football stadium has been scrapped and whether the development around it is an attraction that would generate income for the city from outside the city, would create jobs, develop and build projects, would provide that to me. We have seen this too often. Especially given the current situation in the state, where the government seems to be doing everything it can to block urban centers, you have to work urgently and purposefully to attract development instead of distancing yourself from it. So I would like to ask, now that we have possibly shot 620 million dollars in investments in this city and development, where will that 42 million dollars go? Where is this money going to be used for? And what is the impact of this on the taxpayer and the house owners? If you can answer those questions, I would appreciate that very much. Are there any more?

Other comments? Does anyone else want to say anything else? If not, then there is a motion.

To submit point 50? And 50a is supported.

Het is ingediend en ondersteund. Graag stemmen.

Laura, is the blue letter available for Mr. Hilton to see what the amount is? Is that on our website where he can see it and answer his question? That's on our website, right? Okay.

The next point is... The motion is adopted. The next point is 51. On the issuance of general obligations or capital loans for urban renewal up to a maximum of $18 million. 51a is a supplementary action for the issuance of general obligations or capital loans for urban renewal up to a maximum of $18 million. Again, remarks of the chairman, two minutes of speaking time per person.

Mayor, if I may ask the speakers to come forward for a little more clarity, these are the obligatory invoices for what has already been approved in our investment plan. That document is also available online and we are available for questions and answers after the meeting. EHM, but in essence we do not add projects to these hearings, but we adapt the financing mechanism for what has already been approved in the CIP. I appreciate that. I just want to ask the question, what is the responsibility and what is the impact of this on homeowners? On our taxes, our taxes in the city, with these new obligations? That is a question I have. And I appreciate that council member Gato will investigate this precisely. They are all on a list and this year there is no tariff increase for the city's taxpayers. Okay, thank you, well done. And I think Kevin is talking about something that most people probably... ...are struggling with when they have to deal with these agendas and he is the one who is closest to it at the moment, in the sense that he is already trying to process these things. One comment and then one question about why we do things the way we do them. The comment is that every blue letter or the communication of the council about each of these obligation items is exactly the same and that they split the projects that are financed by each obligation. So there will be an extension, 18 million dollars is also in the previous one and the previous one is also in this one. So if you read one, you read them all. That is just convenient for people who process all this. But the other question is... More procedural and I bent over and asked Mike this question too. Why do we vote separately here? Because it is a separate obligation. The law requires that the council treat every obligation separately. and you have to keep the hearing session and the complete action for each item. Okay, thank you, I appreciate that. I just want to add that there are limitations to the amount. So you will notice that a large part of the rest is on that 1,380,000. That is disgusting, because that is the maximum amount per hearing session. And that is why we have to divide them into so many different groups. Oh, and that's because of the goal. The goal is limited to the general end of the business goal. They are limited to 1,380,000. You see the goals. The goals in the first two are goals where the limit is not of application. And the rest are not end of the business goal. En voor de duidelijkheid, ik stel dit soort vragen graag aan tafel, ook al verlengt het onze vergaderingen een beetje, maar ik denk dat er waarschijnlijk mensen zijn die dezelfde vragen hebben als ik.

We stellen ze ook omdat ik ze allemaal kan lezen, toch?

Ja, precies. Ik dien 51 en 51a in.

Het is ingediend en ondersteund. Stem alstublieft. 7 yes. The proposal is adopted. Point 52 concerns the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of $1,380,000 for general business purposes. Point 52a is an additional action for the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of $1,380,000. Again, there is a maximum of two minutes' talk time for relevant comments. Does anyone want to speak about this?

I don't see anyone. Very kind. I support points 52 and 52a. Second.

The proposal has been accepted and supported. Please vote.

Carol, I don't think your proposal has been accepted. Seven votes for. The proposal is accepted.

Point 53 concerns the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of $1,380,000 for general business purposes. Point 53a is an additional action for the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of $1,380,000. Does anyone want to talk about this?

Ik zie niemand. Ik dien punt 53 en 53a in. Tweede.

Dus ingediend en gesteund. Graag stemmen.

Zeven.

Ja. Motie aangenomen. Punt 54 over de uitgifte van algemene obligaties of kapitaalleningen tot een maximum van 1.380.000 dollar voor algemene bedrijfsdoeleinden. Eul 54a, supplementary action for the issuance of general bonds or capital loans up to a maximum of $1,380,000. And that would be GCP 3 for both. Does anyone want to speak about this? I don't see anyone.

I support points 54 and 54a. Second. Then supported and supported, please vote.

7 yes.

Motion taken. Point 55. About the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of 1,380,000 for general business purposes end of GCP 4. 55A. Completing the action for the issuance of general obligations or capital loans up to a maximum of 1,380,000 for general business purposes end of GCP 4. Again, does anyone want to say anything about this? I.

See no one, noble lord. I serve point 55 and 55a in. Second. It is served and supported. Please vote. Seven, yes.

Motion taken. The next point is point 56 about the issuance of a maximum of 1,380,000 General Obligations or Capital Lenders for General Business Goals, GCP 5. 56a. Completing the action for the issuance of a maximum of 1,380,000 General Obligations or Capital Lenders, GCP 5. Again, does anyone want to say anything about this?

Ik zie niemand, edelheer. Ik dien.56 en 56a in. Tweede.

Het is ingediend en ondersteund. Stem alstublieft. Yes, I would like to speak for a few minutes.

At first, this point has already received some attention in the press, but I wanted to give some context because I am very enthusiastic about it. What many people may not remember or realize is that this economic development project is only possible thanks to the decision we have made to move to this new administrative building. Toen ik in de raad begon, was dit perceel bestemd voor een stadsgebouw waarvan de kosten, in dollars van voor de pandemie, werden geschat op zo'n 35 miljoen dollar voor IT en de stads-surfers die nu in dit gebouw staan. And because we made that decision, and one of the reasons was that we knew that it would create extra economic development opportunities in East Village, we hoped for a project like this, and this is a fantastic example of what was possible. The designs look fantastic. We will get a building of five floors, about 25 million dollars, of massive wood that will be sustainable and built to last a long time, even after we all live. This will be part of the future of our city. And not only that, but with this project a head office from a company moves to the center of Des Moines, which is a great part of the story. This company also keeps investing in Des Moines. And I also want to add, and I think it's great that this proposal, although it was originally not included, contains that a street will be removed so that we no longer have to maintain and replace it. A park that they will build as a supply for the whole neighborhood. So this is a fantastic idea and an important part of this story is that it would not have been possible if we had not made things more efficient and had decided to move to this building. This was exactly the kind of development we had in mind when we made this decision and I am glad that a project of this scale is now being presented. I will submit point 29.

This is a great project and it will be a great win for East Village. It is supported and supported. Please vote.

7 yes.

Motion taken. The next point is point 57, in which recommendations are approved on programmatic services and business management with regard to generating income.

Thank you, mayor.

Yes, I give the floor to our city manager.

I appreciate that we have reached this point, where the first package of savings tonight can be submitted to you. For the audience watching, I would like to clarify that the savings in this agenda point coincide with the presentation of 26 August. This presentation is available as a video recording on our website. As you can imagine, the presentation contained a lot of details and it took a few hours, with changes in our budget of $11.5 million. The agenda item of tonight officially concerns the scrapping of the functions that are currently in place. These functions are mentioned in the presentation, the communication and the resolution. It also gives me and my employees the task to continue with the scrapping of the vacant functions, the savings on programs and the increases in income that have been discussed and specified during the workshop. Some of these points, such as the sale of land and the increase in the rates, must be presented to the council as soon as we have worked out the details. I would also like to emphasize that the budget process for this year has been set up in such a way that the transparency and input of both the public and the Des Moines team are enlarged. I think we have succeeded in that. With this goal in mind, we have conducted difficult conversations for months to come to these solutions and to keep the impact on the service and our staff as low as possible, while at the same time closing the budget deficit. Again, I appreciate everyone's effort and I am open to questions.

I give the floor. Does anyone have any comments? Does anyone want to say anything about this? If not, then I will give the floor to the council.

A household share. I had trouble finding the presentation of the 26th online. I'm not sure if it's still there, because we just moved to another system. Maybe it's there and I just couldn't find it, but I also received a few emails about it. People can contact the Griffie.

De video staan nu bovenaan de agenda's in plaats van op elke agenda zelf.

Sorry, niet alleen de video, maar ook de PowerPoint-presentatie.

Ja, ik heb de PowerPoint.

Oh, de PowerPoint. Ik zal het controleren. Ik, ja, ik denk dat het in de agenda staat. Ik heb hem vandaag laten printen, dus...

Okay.

I will check it again. We can check it again. We will check it again and make sure that it is both in the video and in the PowerPoint, so that everyone has a clear picture of what we are discussing. So, if someone has not seen it yet or wants to see it, you can contact one of us at the Griffie.

I have a remark and that is that I really have a hard time with it. I don't think I can support this recommendation. It bothers me that we have reports from both our public security services, our police and our fire department. We know that we have not received any reinforcement there. We do not have enough agents. We do not have enough firemen. And although I know that I have been told, we do not save on that, because they are civil functions, we are going to relocate three agents from the district service. to the traffic service where we previously had three open places and those agents would be taken in the next light if I understand it correctly. So you can say that we do not save anything, but we do that for sure. What it actually comes down to is that we know that we need three extra agents and we just get them from one department to the other. And I think that we ask our police officers and firefighters to put their lives for us, for all of us, at stake every day. And that we then do not give them the necessary personnel occupation. And I said in meetings, well, the response times will depend on it. I think that we as a city have a duty, an order, a responsibility to keep our citizens safe. That's what all cities do. They have staff, we have to do that too. It's just another reason why people will move out of our city. So I just can't support it. I think there were other ways to save money. We are proud that we have a nationally recognized parking system. We have made it our goal to ensure that everyone in the city, wherever you live, can reach a park within 10 minutes. And what three functions have we created? Three maintenance staff in our parks. For me, these are important jobs. These are the people who keep our parks clean for all of us. So, police, fire department and parks, I'm just not going to support it. I'm going to vote against it.

Mayor, I'm going to support this motion. I think we all worked very hard to reach this point. I'm very happy with the amount of input from the public. But having said that, we're going to continue this in January and we're going to continue this every year and I'm worried about the future. Just like all of us. We should do that too. Yes, I agree with both of you. This is important, especially for public safety. We know that we are short of a fire station and that we are short of officers and firefighters. So I think that in January, when we discuss the investment part, In any case, you have to explain to me, I don't know how it is with the rest of you, how we are going to handle this and how we are going to get this done. But in the end we also have to find out how we are going to build an extra fire station and take in 15 firefighters. And according to the report we have, we are shorting 80 officers. 80, we know that we cannot take in 80 agents, but there is a report that says that. I don't think that residents who pay taxes, like all of us, will feel safe with the response times if we continue to save. And I know that we don't want to do this for free, but I will have to see in January how we proceed with the needs of this community. Know that we need it. So how are we going to achieve that? Okay? I support this proposal now. But if we bring this subject into question again in the future, I want to see solutions for the financing of a new fire station, police officers and extra firefighters, whether that is now through a SAFER subsidy or for both. I don't know. I know that we have already done that in the past and have worked together with Local4, with the administration, and that we were able to grant a subsidy for a safer fire station for those extra firefighters when we opened fire station number 11. So I plan to keep fighting for that. I understand the situation in which we are in. I know that we are moving people from the residential area to the traffic lane. We can only do that to a certain extent. That will not work. Yes, I believe that there are two commanders in the back who will say that they have a shortage of personnel. And they would stand here and tell everyone. And it is good to know that we in any case have one commander who would not have said that in the past, but who now says it because it is true. And we have had a shortage of personnel for a very long time. So this time I will show my support, but... We will see how this goes on. The investment plan will include the plan for the fire station and the equipment. And extra firewood, if we have that, right? That will be a separate but parallel conversation. Okay, so I'm just going. Always on the go, talk to people and ask, how are you doing? And it is finally your first year. And I did not expect that I would have to vote for a budget of $750,000 on libraries, about the elimination of three park employees who maintain parks and cemeteries, about the crumbling of police and fire, about the elimination of people who are good at their job, beyond their guilt. But perhaps the most painful thing is the closure of the civil and human rights department in this city. I think that is a big step back for us as a city. And sitting here, with the burden of the fact that I am the first Latino who is sitting here on the eve of the Hispanic Heritage Month, that hurts. And yet, this is a situation in which you have to make difficult choices and we have to be ready to vote for something that is not ideal. And I want to congratulate Scott, your team and the Public Relations department for their efforts to make this known. What I think is a highlight is that people understand that this is not a choice. That nothing we do here will make the government more accessible. Nothing here will make the government function better for our citizens, and we know that, and we don't want this, but we have to get the figures right at a given moment. And I think it's a strong point and I think it actually reflects the wishes of the people who have made contact with us, that each department will provide a contribution or will provide before this process is completed. And I think that's the right approach. And having said that, the next 5 million will be incredibly difficult, incredibly difficult, and I don't know how that process will go. I don't know if we will reach consensus on that or not. But I appreciate the efforts that the city has made and the involvement of the people. I think it has been a very constructive process. I will hold more meetings in the winter when all these things start to happen, just like I did this time. A request I have is that I think that the magnification exercise you did was good and I always remind people that it is not like we walk around with a team of people who are good at thinking about this kind of thing. Not that you are not good at it, Peter, but it is not your job. It is not what you are trained for and you put these kinds of things in place, and I congratulate you for that. I think we can repeat that. I also think we should listen to a number of people who have made contact with us and who asked for the opportunity to go deeper into the matter. It is probably a much smaller group, but there are people who want to. understand why these savings take place and not these savings in this department. I think that when our residents ask to be involved more, even if this process is so challenging and painful for the people who suffer, we have to make the will to come to them and guide them to go deeper into the matter, to be more involved and to have more say about their government. So I will support this point, despite the gravity and the opposition that goes with it, and with the necessary caution for what is going to happen. For me, the scariest thing about the discussions in January is the public safety and the amount of hours that our men and women make. Er is gewoon een grens aan wat een persoon of een gezin aan kan. Het is niet precies hetzelfde, maar soms is het bijna gedwongen overwerk. Ik denk dat dat een ongezonde situatie is. Dus dat is iets waar ik extra op ga letten, gaan we vooruit of achteruit. Ik bedoel, het is een ja. We can't keep asking to do more with less. And that is what we will keep doing. And that is difficult for all our employees. Council member Manalo, but yes, I wanted to talk about a few things. First of all, I want to thank the office of the city manager and the staff for the process. We are ahead of many other municipalities. I think we will see similar conversations in other parts of the state. But the fact that we have already had so many conversations at this stage of the process and so early in the process is already good. I also want to say that I really appreciated the budget calculator exercise. You know, I think it was a design that was made by the staff. And although it is not perfect, I think it is quite successful in placing the audience in our shoes and making them understand the choices we have to make in this budget. En ik weet dat niemand hier blij mee is. Ik denk dat er geen enkele bezuiniging is die niet moeilijk te doorvoeren is. Het zal gevolgen hebben voor de dienstverlening. Het zal gevolgen hebben voor de inwoners. In sommige gevallen zal het de aanstelling van broodnodig personeel vertragen. En zoals? Others have already said, especially in different of our departments, we already ask people to do their work with too little staff. And we know that. But we also know that we do not have the money for it. And after this process we ask every department to do more with less. En we weten dat dat op de lange termijn niet vol te houden is. We weten dat we uitdagingen moeten overwinnen. Een van de dingen die ik hoop dat we zullen doen, of de gesprekken die ik hoop dat we zullen voeren, want we kunnen dit niet alleen oplossen, is hoe lossen we sommige van deze problemen op. En ik weet dat die gesprekken net zo uitdagend zullen zijn. You know, I still remember our first workshop session, which was... ...about the points in the presentation about the meeting room and the... ...possible combination of the meeting room. I said then that I would prefer to do that and the money we would save on that would be invested in more men and women who can serve as police officers and firemen than I did. And even before I left the podium, I had already received emails about that remark. But I think it is worth the effort to investigate that and I had the chance to sit in the meeting room. I had the chance to talk to agents about it. And I know that it is important that we do not take a step back from a technological or capacity perspective. And that requires a lot of discussion. But if we get that for each other and if we can save money, then that is an area where our people, if they take the trouble to do so, earn it to see those savings invested in the men and women of those departments, from a personnel perspective, in my opinion. That is what I would like to see happen. I also want to say that I think that we will see that other communities follow our example. I know that there are communities in the state that have it, and these are small communities, to lift their police corps completely. And I think that gives us the chance to start a conversation in the capital. Maybe public safety is different. And maybe we can split the general fund leverage differently. I would like to see that we as a community plead for a separate leverage for public safety that is not subject to the same 2%. I think this may be an unintended consequence. Maybe the people who don't deal with our budget realized how small our margins are across the entire line and that this kind of savings will affect every service. Maybe there is some understanding and maybe one of the changes that is easier to realize is an exception for public safety, so that we can grow there at a higher level. And that could be a way to tackle some of the concerns that others have raised here on the podium. But we have to work on solutions and not just talk about how difficult this is, because if we don't get a number of these other things together, we're done for again. Because I don't know, I don't know, one of the things that makes this difficult is that I don't want to point out anything else and say that we have to save money instead of that, because there are no good options. And that's part of what will make it so difficult in January and the years after if we can't find any of these other solutions. Not that they are easier to realize, but they seem better ways to get ahead than saving. I mean, we're already at the point of saving to the end. We are talking about the fact that the next step is amputation, not saving money on the bond. And that is a problem for the service to our residents. So I am ready to support this. I am just as reserved as the others here, but I hope that we will use the time we have in the coming months to investigate other possibilities that may offer other solutions.

I agree with what everyone says, no one wants to be here, no one wants to do this. I think people have forgotten that two years ago the first law that was adopted included a saving of 17 million dollars. Okay, this is 12 million and the further you go, the more difficult it gets. So I've always said that this was actually not a reduction in the amount of tax. It was just a simple saving on the service. I mean, in other communities we hear that some, as you already said, close their police department and move to the province. It forces people to make decisions that, in my opinion, are not the best for their communities, but we are really involved in this process. So thank you, Scott, and your entire team, for putting this information together. We went ahead with it, so that we can offer more transparency and make people understand where we stand. We will continue the dialogue with our legislators and look for solutions. We will try to combine things to save costs, but we need more firepower. We need more police. We actually need more of everything to be able to deliver the services we want to offer our inhabitants. I have conducted more conversations about our pilot programmes. We will continue with my work. I will take a seat in the State Commission for people who are dealing with payments instead of taxes for non-profit organizations. I think that in the future we should have more conversations about how more people, especially non-profit organizations, can help, especially our state and federal government. Everyone who is mainly located in Des Moines provides services, especially in the area of fire safety, and I believe that we will earn a compensation for that. So we will continue to conduct these dialogues. We are also open to suggestions on how we can be more cost-effective or how we can set up programs. But... It's just very difficult to be here tonight. Nobody wants to be here, and unfortunately this is an ongoing issue. This does not end tonight. So we are all going to work hard to find ways to soften the consequences. I really ask people to come up for their city, to make contact with their representatives and to plead for what they want, because they are the ones who have adopted the law that caused this.

Daarmee ga ik nu over tot punt 57, edelachtbare. Tweede.

Het voorstel is ingediend en ondersteund. Stem alstublieft. Zes voor één tegen. Het voorstel is aangenomen. Het volgende agendapunt is het spreekrecht voor het publiek. During the hearing, speakers will have the opportunity to speak to the council, a maximum of 3 minutes per person with a maximum of 20 speakers, for a total of 1 hour. Speakers are called individually and we ask everyone to report their name and address or district in advance. Keep your remarks relevant and avoid references to persons or character insults, given that such remarks do not contribute to the purpose of this public forum. In memory of the Council and the public, this meeting is intended to hear your comments. If necessary, we will pass this on to the relevant employee or council member after the meeting. Thank you for your support. The first speaker is Billy Young.

Yes, sure. I am Billy Young. I live on 1915 East 41st Street. I have a wood store that is located on the corner of 41st Street and Jefferson Street. Okay, I have three different offers from the municipality. Now they are trying to expropriate my parcel. Guys, there are no buildings. Do you understand what I mean? Jullie hebben het verzonnen en jullie zeiden dat Linda Westover en de rest van de raad de vorige keer, toen jullie oude gebouwen gebruikten, zouden zorgen voor de marktwaarde. Nee. 5000 dollar voor twee percelen is geen marktwaarde. Ik heb hier meer aan voor opslag.

Oké.

En jullie hebben de huizen om de hoek nooit opgekocht. En jullie willen hier een grote bloementuin aanleggen, terwijl ik die laatst nog heb laten maaien. Allemaal onkruid en geen geld voor insectenbestrijding dit jaar? Wat een waardeloze gemeenteraad. Toen jullie 50 miljoen dollar uitgaven aan een golfmachine, hoeveel mensen hebben er nu surfplanken in Des Moines, Iowa? Ik wil een antwoord. Weet iemand dat?

We spreken je later nog wel.

I have to go now. I'm talking right now. I need an answer from one of you. Linda said she would take care of us, right Linda? It's on YouTube.

This is not the right time. This is not the right time. This is a time when we have to have a debate if you are here. The municipal council has said that we are going to offer an honest market value. The department has correctly determined with taxes what that honest market value is.

Know what they have calculated to tax my two parcels. 1700. And then the mayor of the municipality gave me 6500. I don't get anything honest. So I stay at my position. They park, drive around. They can safely continue dumping their waste there. We make a dump of it. Okay. Do you understand what I mean? You don't know how to do anything. maar jullie geven het geld van mensen uit en anderen worden opgezadeld met het geld dat jullie krijgen. En dank u wel. Fijne avond.

Kate Swanson. Crystal Jones. Kevin Hilton. Hebben jullie al gesproken? Oké.

Edelachtbare, ik zal uw... Goed. Ik zal 58 a tot en met d ter beschikking stellen.

2. The proposal has been accepted and supported. Please vote. 7. Yes, the proposal has been accepted. Before we vote, I would like to thank all the people who have helped in the public works, the public safety, everyone who was involved in the storm last week. And unfortunately it seems that we will get a lot of it again, even the traffic due to all the accidents and the firefighters and aid providers who have received countless calls. Again, these are the services we deliver to our citizens and we appreciate what they have done, above all expectations, and the cleaning up of all branches, I believe it was today. So again, stay safe and this meeting is closed.

M H M