Des Moines Residents Weigh In On Budget Gap Solutions

DES MOINES, IOWA - Friday, August 7, 2026 - The results of Des Moines' summer budget exercise are in.

From late June through the end of July, 2,303 people submitted the City's online budget calculator exercise, which asked them to prioritize City-identified budget savings options. This exercise is part of an extended public budgeting process to close the estimated $12M gap that the City of Des Moines faces in FY2028 due to changes in property tax legislation that significantly limits the City's revenue in future budget years.

"Over the last month, this budget exercise has generated important awareness and valuable dialogue about the budget decisions facing the City of Des Moines," City Manager Scott Sanders said. "These decisions are difficult because we're talking about finding savings by cutting back on services we know our residents value, and the results of this exercise show that Des Moines appreciates the services we provide to the city. The feedback on specific budget savings options that we received over the last month will guide our City Council members through the budget decisions they will make."

The budget calculator started with $6.4M in administrative savings. These pre-selected reductions consist of the departments that primarily support other city departments (City Clerk, City Manager's Office, Finance, IT, Human Resources) and a comprehensive review of existing city fees.

Participants were then asked to select $5.6M in savings from 37 possible service reductions or new revenue choices across other City departments. Submissions that did not reach the $12M threshold in savings were considered incomplete submissions and not included in the overall results.

Reaching the $12M threshold was designed to highlight the significant and difficult decisions facing the City and help gauge feedback on what savings options residents are most willing to utilize to balance the City's budget.

The results of this budget savings exercise will help shape initial budget savings recommendations that will be presented to City Council on August 26. City Council will vote on these recommendations at its September 14 meeting.

Of 2,303 budget calculator submissions, nearly 90% identified themselves as City residents, business owners or property taxpayers. A graph of the self-identified wards of participants is below.

The 20 most-selected results for all savings options are displayed in the table below:

Rank	% of respondents	Count	Option	Department
1	88%	2,027	Eliminate Floodplain Property Buyout Program	Non-Departmental Investments
2	84%	1,939	Increase Site Plan Review Timeline	Development Services
3	82%	1,887	New Resident/Non-Resident Fee Structure	Parks and Recreation
4	81%	1,876	Eliminate Private Property Graffiti Contract	Neighborhood Services
5	80%	1,847	Sale of unused/underutilized park properties; eliminate future soccer complex expansion capacity	Parks and Recreation
6	78%	1,806	New Engineering Fees	Engineering
7	75%	1,720	Focus Hiring on Certified Training Classes	Fire Department
8	74%	1,704	New Roofing Permit	Development Services
9	70%	1,619	Eliminate Duplicative Fire Investigation Services Offered by the State of Iowa	Fire Department
10	68%	1,569	Eliminate Complaint Intake, Processing, and Enforcement	Community Impact and Relations
11	68%	1,561	Reduced Traffic and Parking Operations Coordination	Engineering
12	68%	1,560	Eliminate Odor Monitoring Contract	Neighborhood Services
13	67%	1,544	No change in firefighter staffing	Fire Department
14	66%	1,510	Zoning Inspections Reduction	Neighborhood Services
15	61%	1,408	Close Small Branches One Additional Day	Public Library
16	61%	1,405	End supplemental seasonal police patrols funded through Parks budget	Parks and Recreation
17	59%	1,367	No Sunday Hours and Department Reorganization	Public Library
18	59%	1,349	Reduced Demolition Project Coordination and Administration	Engineering
19	58%	1,345	Reduce Neighborhood Based Service Delivery (NBSD) Outreach Services	Police Department
20	58%	1,326	Eliminate ornamental flower beds downtown; simplify landscaping	Parks and Recreation

Click Here to See Full Survey Results

Residents can continue to learn about and participate in the City's budget process at DSM.city/Budget.

Contact
Peter Zemansky
Communications Manager, City Manager's Office
(515) 210-6586
[email protected]

About the City of Des Moines
The City of Des Moines: Iowa's capital city and local government servicing more than 217,000 residents, 46 neighborhoods, over 4,000 acres of parkland and 81 miles of trails. The City of Des Moines stands to be a financially strong city with exceptional city services, fostering an involved community in a customer friendly atmosphere. Visit DSM.city, Facebook and Twitter for more information.