The Des Moines City Council Study Session on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, focused on specifications for the new Planning Commission, navigating a bleak state legislative forecast, and approving a public safety sales tax increase.
Discussions on the legislative session were sobering, with the advocate recommending no requests for new funding due to a budget deficit.
The council unanimously approved a sales tax increase – from 10.2% to 10.3% – expected to generate $450,000 annually to fund criminal justice needs, including police recruitment and animal control.
Shaping The Planning Commission
The meeting began with a discussion about the formation of the Planning Commission (PC). The council discussed who the seven members should be, what kind of experience they should have, as well as parameters for the types of things the PC would discuss. Five of the members will need to have some kind of experience with things related to planning, land use, growth management, or housing. Members will be appointed by council vote, and can’t serve on any other standing city committees.
The council majority agreed that six members should be residents of the city, with one local business owner who could reside elsewhere. There was some dispute on this, with Councilmember Gene Achziger and Deputy Mayor Harry Steinmetz feeling that everyone on the commission should be a resident. Numbers were not available for how many Des Moines business owners also reside in the city.
Topics the PC will be discussing could include development code updates, development agreements, and zone changes. There was some concern expressed by Deputy Mayor Steinmetz about a non-elected body determining things like the Comprehensive Plan and Master Plan, and there was general agreement to keep these things within the purview of the city council. The council has the option to refer these and other topics to the commission as needed.
Bleak Outlook For State Legislative Update
Des Moines Legislative Advocate Anthony Hemstad gave an update and forecast for the next state legislative session. He said the coming session will be very short, only 60 days, which presents a challenge for getting things done. In addition, he said things have gotten even worse since the prior session, which he described as brutal. Hemstad said the state faced a huge budget deficit in 2025, so they made massive program cuts and passed the largest tax increase in the state’s history. He expects more cuts and tax increases will be forthcoming, making any asks for new money all but impossible.
Hemstad recommended that the council make no asks at all this year. He likened the situation to a farmer needing to let the field go fallow on occasion, in order to be in a better position the following year. He said the focus should be on protecting the current funding. On the bright side, he did think the mosquito fleet restoration act could pass this year.
Councilmember Achziger asked that Hemstad advocate for the state to relieve restrictions on revenue from traffic cameras. This could allow that money to be used for public safety generally, rather than just traffic calming measures. It was mentioned that the state is now taking an even larger chunk of the traffic camera money than they used to. Deputy Mayor Harry Steimetz asked that the state might also allow an expansion of the number of speed camera locations, which are currently limited to three.
Councilmember Matt Mahoney proposed that the city should advocate for a new “negative impact usage fee” for the airport. He explained that a $5 fee could be added to each ticket, with that money being used to compensate and benefit communities impacted by their proximity to the airport.
Public Safety Sales Tax
The council unanimously approved a 0.1% sales tax increase, which is newly allowed by the state, with the revenue restricted to criminal justice purposes. Once this takes effect, the sales tax rate in Des Moines will go from 10.2% to 10.3%, costing consumers an additional ten cents per $100 in sales. It is expected to gain the city $450,000 in annual revenue. The money will fund police recruitment and retention, as well as reinstating animal control services through Burien CARES, and increased public defender and jail costs.
In order to qualify for this sales tax increase, the city has many hoops to jump through including law enforcement training, reporting, and proof of compliance. Once the sales tax is in place, the city will qualify for public safety grant money. This ordinance will need final approval at a second reading, during the Oct. 9 council meeting.
