The April 23 Des Moines City Council meeting was a hub of community advocacy and fiscal reality checks.
While public speakers called for an end to dangerous street racing and questioned the legality of surveillance cameras, city officials were forced to confront a shocking drop-off in property tax revenue.
From the uncertain future of the Boeing Access Road Light Rail Station to the nuances of downtown parking, the session captured a city working through significant growing pains, budget shocks, and the ongoing quest for an efficient, safe commute.
Public Comments: Senior & Immigrant Health & Safety
Multiple commenters focused on the city’s need to address ongoing dangerous driving issues in Redondo. It was mentioned that the community is mostly senior citizens, and stress is a major safety issue for an aging population. Speeding drivers, many with no licence plates or deliberately obscured plates, routinely blaze down the street. They have modified exhaust systems, making an explosive noise as they race by. Reports to the police have resulted in no reduction. One speaker mentioned that one of these heedless drivers recently drove into a neighbor’s yard.
Other speakers expressed concern about the city’s Flock cameras, which take images of license plates and are used to find wanted vehicles and missing persons. They mentioned that state laws have recently changed, and believe that most if not all of the city’s Flock cameras are now in violation of state law. They said the city should be trying to increase the feeling of safety among immigrant families, and these cameras are doing the opposite.
Sound Transit Could Cut Boeing Access Station
Deputy Mayor Gene Achziger reported that with Sound Transit facing a $35 billion dollar budget shortage, they are looking at ways to reduce costs. This could mean eliminating the planned Boeing Access Road Light Rail Station. Achziger believes cutting this station would harm the Des Moines workforce, as that location provides 75,000 jobs and the stop would serve a lot of commuters.
Preliminary 2025 4th Quarter Finance Report
Finance Director Jeff Friend was asked to provide the financial report earlier than in the past, and he said there is a trade-off between timeliness and providing accurate final numbers. In addition to taking a long time to process everything, staff have to wait for state reporting before they have certain figures. That said, Friend gave the Preliminary Fourth Quarter Financial Report, while warning that some numbers are not yet finalized.
Both the General Fund revenue and expenses came in a little below what was budgeted. Revenue dropped due to both a decline in red light camera revenue, which had a bigger drop than expected, and a massive reduction in property tax payments, which was a shock.
Staff are still looking into why there was such a big reduction in people paying their property tax. This money is collected by King County, and it has not yet been determined if this shortage is due to a change in how the county is collecting taxes, or if other cities experienced the same delinquency rate. Failure to pay property taxes will result in a lien against the property, and eventual foreclosure. Councilmember Pierre Blosse asked if this was the first sign of a potential housing crisis. More info to come as answers are sought by city staff.
2026 Parking Demand Survey
In 2017 Des Moines did a downtown parking demand evaluation, and found a large surplus of parking at both 9 a.m. and lunchtime throughout the week. As the city now makes plans for increasing density, the parking evaluation was repeated. Lots of availability was still found throughout the day. A couple of lots were seen to exceed 80% capacity at certain times, and one, Edward Jones, exceeded 100% capacity. However, it was determined that people driving to downtown businesses will be able to park within one block of their destination.
Public feedback to the city has been pretty negative about the areas that now have a 2-hour parking limit, but it was explained that this is something business owners had been asking for, as it allows more customers to come and go, rather than the spots being taken indefinitely by overnight parking.
Councilmember Harry Steinmetz pointed out that it would be useful to evaluate parking availability during the dinner hour, as it could be a very different picture.
Mayor Chat At Tandoori Slice
Mayor Yoshiko Grace Matsui will hold a Chat with the Mayor on Saturday, April 25 at Tandoori Slice. This chat will take place between 4–6 p.m. She hopes that holding these chats at various times throughout the week will allow more public participation. Mayor Grace Matsui looks forward to answering your questions and discussing community issues.
The mayor also encouraged more members of the public to get involved with the city in other ways. Those looking to volunteer, or fill a seat on a board, can find out more at this link.
