During preliminary discussions for Des Moines 2010 budget it became apparent the two departments that will be looked at most closely are Parks and Recreation and Police.

Chief Roger Baker was asked to cut $800,000 from the budget he brought the city manager. He is proposing to do so by freezing any unfilled positions and laying off employees, including five police officers.

The positions would not be eliminated, but frozen. There is some hope federal funds might become available which could allow these positions to be reopened.

Police staff made it through fairly unscathed during last year's budget process, but will likely not be so lucky this year. Support costs for the officers were cut allowing for no staff cuts. The chief said this year the support costs have been cut so low he would not recommend cutting them anymore.

Council members made it clear they want to support police services.

A levy lid lift helps fund the police department and was a large part of the reason department was not looked to for major cuts last year.

After Baker announced his plan to cut police officers Councilman Ed Pina immediately spoke out against it, making a motion to remove cutting officers from the budget-balancing proceedings.

"The thought of removing this many officers to protect our streets I find totally abhorrent," Pina said. "Public Safety is the prime responsibility of the city."

Councilwoman Susan White responded she would rather keep parks open.

"I don't want to see less officers on the streets. But on the other hand I don't want to see our parks closed and people going into parks because no one is out there maintaining stuff and then we are going to have homeless people sleeping in them," White said.

Mayor Bob Sheckler said this was not the right time during the budget talks to make a decision to remove something from the budget talks, and that he would be voting no on the motion not because he didn't agree with it but because it wasn't the right time.

The motion failed, with several council members agreeing with the mayor.

The Parks Recreation and Senior Services Master Plan was also discussed at the meeting.

A bleak picture of the programs in Des Moines was presented to the council. Staff said many of the existing parks and recreation areas in the city are in need of major repair for public safety and continued viability.

They also said in North Hill, Central Des Moines, Pacific Ridge/Midway, Zenith, South Des Moines and Woodmont areas have little in the way of recreational facilities, leaving a disconnect between the city and their citizens.

The city's lack of adequate public transportation and their policy of charging fees for recreation and senior services makes program access and participation difficult for low income citizens, who are gradually making up more and more of the demographic in Des Moines.

According to the city, 53 percent of students in the Highline School District are being served free or reduced lunches.

The staff report to the council cited citizen-voted initiatives that have negatively impacted funding levels for all levels of government, from the state on down. This during a time when recreation and human services as well as environmental issues require the city's attention, according to the report.

Staffers said important decisions must be made regarding how best to tackle these challenges and to support Des Moines citizens' future quality of life.

It was recommended by staff that the city lower their level of service (LOS) for parks from 8.5 acres per 1,000 people to 6.5, saying this is a more reasonable level of service given the city's expected population growth.

Councilman Scott Thomasson wants to go over the parks one by one determining the level of service for each park on an individual basis.
White was opposed to this.

Also discussed was the city's policy toward Saltwater State Park, and whether they want to actively pursue taking it over from the state.

Currently the campground and park store are closed until further notice, but the park is open for use during the day.

White wanted to actively go after taking over Saltwater from the state. However, there is no money to fund the parks Des Moines does have, others noted.

Lawmakers will be discussing the budget at every council meeting until the end of the year. The next meeting will be Thursday Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Des Moines City Hall.