Times/News Correspondent

Revenue created by a property tax levy lid lift could help reduce Des Moines' crime rate to 1999 levels, Police Chief Roger Baker told city council members on Aug. 18.

Baker emphasized that no new police officers would be added to the department with revenue generated by the levy increase.

Instead, he said it would allow the department to restore positions that were cut after passage of Initiative 695 in 1999.

If council members agree on Sept. 8 to place it on November's general election ballot and it then wins voter approval, the city's property tax levy will increase by $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed valuation next year.

The owner of a home valued at $250,000 would pay an additional $400 in property taxes.

Although the draft proposal refers to "new law enforcement expenditures," council members found that wording to be too broad.

"You have to be more specific on what the funds are going to be used for," said City Manager Tony Piasecki.

"What is the number of officers and technology? There needs to be more definitive language."

Lawmakers also pondered what parts of the city would benefit from the additional law enforcement, and whether new police substations would be employed.

"While we definitely have a need for law enforcement at Redondo, we have a greater need at Pacific Ridge," observed Councilman Richard Benjamin.

"If we are going to take that step at Redondo and stop something from exploding, we should also take the area that is most explosive and defuse it," he added, referring to Pacific Ridge.

Baker said crime rates there have been higher than in other areas of the city.

"We have created a fifth patrol team to provide real-time information on where the crime is occurring," he said, noting that this team spends time at both Redondo and Pacific Ridge, as well as other parts of the city.

Mayor Bob Sheckler asked the council members to consider two substations - one in Redondo and the other in Pacific Ridge.

"I don't want another sub-station," responded Councilman Dan Sherman. "If we have a sub-station, I would like the manpower to staff it."

Council member Maggie Steenrod expressed concern with district boundaries, stating that when an alleged criminal is arrested, a Des Moines' officer may have to take time away from their duties to go to another District Court.

She said that it would be helpful to implement technology, such as cameras, that could serve as evidence so city officers wouldn't have to take the time away from their patrol duties to testify.

Baker noted it would be helpful to have this kind of technology in an area like Pacific Ridge, where two guns recently were found hidden along South 216th Street and a machete was stuck in a fence - strategically placed their so suspects wouldn't be caught with these weapons in their possession.

This is the second time a levy lid lift has been proposed in the cash-strapped city in the past 12 months.

Last year, Des Moines' voters rejected a levy lid lift to help offset a $300,000 shortfall in anticipated 2005 general fund revenues.

The new proposal indicated, however, that the levy lid lift would increase revenue just for law enforcement expenditures.

I-695 repealed the state's Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, which had produced a steady revenue stream for cities and counties.

Sheckler observed during last year's levy lid lift debate that while voters targeted Olympia with I-695, its primary impact has been felt at the local level.