Des Moines residents decry police department's $78 million budget

Des Moines City Council approved the city's nearly $990 million budget Monday — but not before more than a dozen city residents decried the $78 million share allocated to the Des Moines Police Department.

City residents, as well as members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Just Voices Iowa, nonprofits that separately work on racial and social justice issues, expressed frustration that the police department makes up the largest portion — 35% — of the city's operating budget, which totals $222 million. Des Moines residents for years have scrutinized police spending over concerns of racial profiling and over-policing, particularly in the wake of George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis officer in 2020.

Initially, residents had one minute to comment on the budget, but the council passed a motion that gave residents up to five minutes. Many called for a freeze of the department's budget and asked the city to more critically analyze the funding and complete a third-party review of the police department's policies and practices.

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"This budget is out of whack," said Des Moines resident Sheila Knoploh-Odole. "We shouldn't be rewarding the police until after they put in some basic best practices."

Knoploh-Odole, a mother of mixed-race children, said a freeze in the police budget would send a message of transparency and accountability in the police force.

"I don't trust them," she said. "It terrifies me at night when my son is out late because I'm afraid he might get pulled over. I shouldn't be afraid of that here in Des Moines."

Lori Young, with Just Voices Iowa, said at eight times more than the library and 100 times more than the civil and human rights budgets, the police department's share is a reason to stop and examine its funding. She asked Des Moines City Council members to think of other ways to use some of that money, such as for homelessness, health care, job training and youth services.

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Young also called on council members to ask more questions about the department's budget and if it's in line with performance: whether violent and felonious crimes are going up or down or at what rate homicides are solved.

Harvey Harrison of Just Voices Iowa also expressed concern there was limited opportunity for the public to provide comment on the budget, though officials disputed that characterization and said the city tried hard to get as much input from the public through meetings and workshops.

The city had a total of 28 attendees over four budget workshops, according to the city. It also received hundreds of comments online, city manager Scott Sanders said.

At the meeting Monday, council members Josh Mandelbaum and Connie Boesen said while they support the budget as presented, they acknowledge there is room to improve how the city tackles public safety.

Mandelbaum applauded the city's contract with 21CP, a third-party consultant hired to review the police department's policies and make recommendations to strengthen its procedures, protocols, and training regarding various types of community interactions, particularly with people of color, according to a council communications memo. The consultant cost $250,000 and the review could be completed early in 2024.

Sanders told the Des Moines Register the comments Monday demonstrate there is progress being made, but it may not be at the pace residents would like to see.

"I understand that and part of what every budget has to do is put a balance out there that the elected officials believe the entire community is expecting to see," he said. "More specifically, we have had quite a bit of requests for additional police patrolling, additional police resources, so I believe we've got a pretty good mix in the budget."

The increase of $1.1 million over last year's budget, he added, reflects the amount needed to keep the same level of service — and the same is true across all departments.

"That goes for every service level, given the inflationary costs, to do the same thing year over year," Sanders said.

The police budget allocates $780,000 to replace a fleet of the police department's in-car cameras, according to city finance director Nick Schaul.

Des Moines also hopes to hire a public safety equity staff member, Sanders said. This employee would eventually implement some of the recommendations made by 21CP.

The fiscal year starts July 1.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines police budget gets resident scrutiny at council meeting