Des Moines set to approve its $990 million budget in April

Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register
·5 min read

Des Moines is set in the next several weeks to approve its nearly $990 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.

City Council members on Monday approved setting a public hearing on April 10 to adopt the recommended budget and approve the city's Capital Improvement Program, a blueprint for expenditures on construction, renovation, and repair of city-owned buildings and infrastructure over the next three fiscal years.

Also during the meeting council members:

  • Allocated more than $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to two organizations that help combat food insecurity and homelessness.

  • Voted to approve projects related to the second phase of downtown urban neighborhood Gray's Station.

  • Accepted funds from donors for the future Reichardt Community Recreation Center.

City's budget hearing set April 10

After Iowa lawmakers in February passed Senate File 181 to correct a state property tax calculation error that would have put residents on the hook for millions of extra dollars in payments, Des Moines ― which had calculated based on the previous figures ― was left facing a shortfall of about $3.5 million, or 2% of its annual operating budget.

The city does not plan to increase its current tax levy of $16.61 to make up for it, according to City Manager Scott Sanders. Instead, it will fill the majority of the hole with $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, fund originally earmarked for water trails projects. The city said it will absorb the remaining $500,000 on the debt service funds from its local option sales and services tax.

On April 10, council members also will approve changes to the budget, including an increase in funding for Walnut Street Bridge reconstruction over the next two years and more funding for the Sixth Avenue Corridor ― $10,000 ― for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, according to the council communications memo.

ARPA funding allocated to Meals on Wheels, Homeward

Council members approved allocating $600,000 of ARPA funding to WesleyLife's Meals on Wheels program. Another $460,000 will go to Homeward, a Polk County organization that plans for dealing with homelessness.

In all, Iowa's capital city received nearly $95 million in federal COVID-19 relief. The ARPA funds need to be committed by the end of 2024 and disbursed by the end of 2026.

The Meals on Wheels program assists homebound seniors facing food insecurity by delivering ready-to-eat meals to people's doorsteps. Based in Drake University's College of Education building, it will serve older adults and veterans across Polk County and parts of Dallas County.

Last year, 9,000 older adults in Polk County experienced food insecurity, a number that Shannon Draayer, WesleyLife's director of health and well-being, previously told the Register continues to increase with rising food costs. Eighty percent of WesleyLife's Meals on Wheels recipients have annual incomes within 185% of the federal poverty line, or $21,978 for a senior living alone. Across the state, 41% of older adults who are working are struggling to pay for necessities such as food, housing and health care, Draayer said.

The funds will go toward renovating the Wesley campus, expanding and enhancing kitchen capacity and creating accessible spaces for intergenerational activities, a café and an indoor hydroponic garden, according to the council communications memo.

The $460,000 approved for Homeward will be broken down as follows:

  • $10,000 for an Unsheltered Study performed by Drake University professor Elizabeth Talbert, with funds matched from multiple sources.

  • $150,000 for a community casework position for two years, an amount matched by Polk County.

  • $300,000 for the general operations of Homeward Iowa across multiple years, also matched by Polk County.

Gray's Station phase two approved

To be completed over the next decade, Hubbell Realty Co.'s 75-acre Gray's Station ultimately will have up to 1,200 housing units in a walkable setting. The neighborhood is located in an abandoned rail yard just south of the central business district between Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and the Raccoon River and between Southwest 11th and Southwest 16th streets.

Developers at Hubbell are approaching the tail end of the neighborhood's first phase, a $78 million project that included the LINC apartments and townhomes, about 40 more townhomes and a pedestrian bridge over the Raccoon River to provide access to Gray's Lake and Water Works Park.

The upcoming second phase — an estimated $40 million project — includes the Telus condominiums, 84 one-story units that will be at the corner of Southwest 13th and Tuttle streets. While initial plans called for more townhomes, the condominiums were added in response to Hubbell's recent success with the Edison condo building at 400 S.W. Seventh St., which sold out in two years.

With approval, developers will start infrastructure work this spring, according to Hubbell Vice President Rachel Flint. The team hopes to start construction on the apartments and townhomes in late 2023 and early 2024.

Donations approved for the Des Moines' north side rec center

With less than $1 million to go, Des Moines is closing in on its fundraising goal for the replacement of the aging John R. Grubb Community YMCA with an $18 million community recreation center.

The project has received another $1.65 million in donations, reaching 87% of its $6 million fundraising goal, according to a news release from the city. The Des Moines City Council voted Monday to accept the funds and name two spaces at the future Reichardt Community Recreation Center after donors Mid-American Energy and Polk County.

The 40,000-square-foot recreation center to be built on the Grubb Y's north side site at 1611 11th St. and 1600 Ninth St. will house the first city-owned indoor pool, as well as a gymnasium, fitness space, community room and track. Its full scope will be determined by the amount of money raised for the project.

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: Approval of $990 million Des Moines budget set for April