The Des Moines City Council convened on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, to focus on two critical financial matters: reviewing the 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and exploring options for increasing municipal revenue.
Staff presented the CIP, a broad multi-year strategy encompassing many long range projects, both funded and unfunded, which serves as the prerequisite for grant funding.
The Council also discussed potential revenue streams, including a proposed increase to the city’s car tab fee to bolster the Transportation Benefit District fund, and the possibility of implementing a new parking tax, generating debate among councilmembers about the cumulative effect of increasing fees on the public.
Capital Improvement Plan
During the Committee of the Whole, staff presented the 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP includes 87 projects totalling $175,275,000. City Manager Katherine Caffrey explained that the CIP is a broad multi-year plan that is never fully funded in its entirety. Projects included in this CIP have a total of $123,014,000 in secured funding, $46,504,000 in unsecured funding, and $5,757,000 that remain unfunded. Projects need to be included on the CIP in order to seek out grants. Currently, 68 of the 87 projects are fully funded, 15 are partially funded, and 4 are unfunded.
Projects in the CIP include building maintenance, municipal capital improvements, transportation improvements, and surface water management. One of the coming projects is the marina tenant restroom replacement. This restroom was originally built in 1970 and will be replaced with a prefabricated unit with four unisex stalls and showers, plus a restroom that will be accessible to the public. The cost is $800,000, with demolition and construction to take place in 2026.
Other projects include the Redondo float replacement; upgrading corrugated metal pipes with plastic that is expected to last 70 to 100 years; design and construction of the Des Moines Creek estuary; and the installation of ten traffic calming speed bumps. There will be a substantial update on the estuary project early in 2026. The council will vote on the CIP at the November 13th meeting.
Car Tab Increase Considered
During the Study Session, the council considered ways to increase revenue for the city. The car tab fee, which has been $40 per vehicle since 2015, could be raised to $50. This money goes directly into the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) fund, which is restricted revenue. This money can only be utilized for things like road maintenance–projects that are visible to and generally appreciated by the public.
Only two area cities, Seattle and Lake Forest Park, charge $50 for car tabs. The majority of surrounding cities charge only $20. Des Moines currently brings in $950,000 from car tabs; raising the fee by $10 is expected to bring in an additional $240,000. Councilmember Matt Mahoney clarified that this is really an inflationary expense, as the cost of road work which the revenue funds has increased by around 15% in recent years. Councilmember JC Harris said the city needs to make it very clear where the funds are going. He pointed out that saying “TBD” on a receipt is unclear to the community. It should instead spell out “Transportation Benefit District”. There is a long turnaround time for increasing this fee, so revenue wouldn’t be seen from it until 2027. The council will vote on this at an upcoming business meeting.
New Parking Tax Possible
The council also discussed adding a parking tax. Councilmember JC Harris argued that it would be easier and more clear to simply raise the rate of paid parking. Mayor Traci Buxton said that it is now normal and expected to have taxes on just about everything. Instituting a 10% tax on paid parking would bring in $50,000 in new revenue. The council will vote on this new tax at a future business meeting.
Both Councilmember JC Harris and Mayor Traci Buxton expressed concern about “nickel and diming” the public with increases to fees in so many areas. Mayor Traci Buxton said that there are other ways she would prefer to increase revenue. When asked for a tally of recently approved fee increases, City Manager Katherine Caffrey listed just two: potential increases to the utility tax or franchise fees, and the public safety sales tax. She explained that neither of these are a sure thing. The council only gave staff approval to negotiate new contracts with utility providers, and no new fees have yet been determined.
For the public safety sales tax, Caffrey said actual adoption has been challenging. Not a single city has been able to institute the new tax, and many are working with the state to make adoption less cumbersome. She believes this tax will come through eventually, but for now it is in “purgatory.”
