Des Moines could yank funding from a program that seeks to reduce gun violence and improve public safety in the city’s north-side neighborhoods.
If approved with the budget Monday, the city will not renew its funding agreement with local nonprofit Creative Visions’ Violence Intervention Program once it expires in November, according to a city document posted to its budget site.
Creative Visions launched VIP in December 2021 after City Council members moved forward with an initiative to combat gun and gang violence on the city’s north side, using the Cure Violence model as a guide. The model, established by a nonprofit with the same name, first debuted on Chicago’s West Side.
More: Inside a Des Moines program hoping to reduce gun, youth violence in the city’s north side
Ivette Muhammad, chief operating officer at Creative Visions, said the VIP is unique in Des Moines.
“And the fact that we’re losing a program that’s dedicated to saving the lives of at-risk youth is just very disheartening, you know,” Muhammad said.
Community members gather for a day of remembrance for homicide victims on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at Creative Visions in Des Moines.
Over the past four years, Muhammad said the staff has worked closely with youth to mediate conflicts and prevent violence. And it’s made a difference, she said.
As of Feb. 10, Zone 2, an area the organization canvasses from Interstate 235 to Clark Street and 16th Street to 26th Street, has gone 791 days without a shooting.
The city funds around half of the operation’s annual $650,000 budget, Muhammad said. The program has received roughly $1 million from the city since the initiative’s inception.
The program was funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars that the city originally intended to absorb into the operating budget, according to the city.
“Unfortunately, due to current budget constraints that isn’t fiscally possible,” officials wrote on the budget website.
The budget season has proved tumultuous for the city as it contends with a $17 million deficit in fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1. Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders has largely blamed the shortfall on a state-mandated cap on property tax revenue growth and the rising costs of services and materials.
The city’s proposal to not extend the agreement with Creative Visions is the latest in a list of programs that could be downsized or chopped altogether in response to the shortfall. The city had not announced the cut until this week.
Creative Visions founder Ako Abdul–Samad said the organization had been aware of the possibility that the city could pull funding given its deficit, but said the organization’s work is crucial given that the U.S. Surgeon General declared firearm violence a public health crisis last year. Should the city’s decision stand, Abdul-Samad said the organization will continue looking for funding to make up the program’s shortfall, adding he’s appreciated the city’s past investment.
The Des Moines City Council is set to have a hearing Monday evening to adopt the recommended $986 million budget, which includes $839 million in operating funds. City Council also will vote whether to adopt the property tax levy during the 5 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive.
Here’s what else could be impacted in the new budget:
Eliminating Des Moines’ sustainability office
So far, Des Moines has taken an axe to the two-person sustainability office that oversaw the implementation of the city’s climate action plan.
The two staff members’ positions were eliminated in mid-January, prompting swift backlash from climate action leaders, students, business owners and community members who demanded that the city restore the staff, claiming that the office’s absence leaves the city’s climate action efforts in dire straits.
The sustainability program ― which made up about $271,000 of the budget ― was in charge of enacting goals from ADAPT DSM, an ambitious climate action plan that aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in Des Moines.
The plan, approved in 2023, was a result of the City Council passing some of the most ambitious city-level sustainability goals in the country that created several milestones in the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
More: Without a sustainability office, could Des Moines be leaving grant money on the table?
A document from the city says a team of directors from each city department, as well as staff from the city manager’s office, have met to make sure ADAPT DSM and climate goals are transitioned into a “department-centric structure.”
The team is reviewing tasks already completed, as well as immediate and long-term tasks, and providing feedback on the resources they’ll need to complete them, the document stated. The city also is exploring the potential for tasks to be led by an “outside vendor.”
Birdland Pool could survive another summer
Sanders initially proposed shuttering Birdland Pool, a favorite summer hangout on Des Moines’ north side, following the 2025 season but reversed course after strong public objections.
One of the city’s five pools, the pool at 300 Holcomb Ave. offers eight 50-meter swim lanes, two water basketball hoops, three diving boards and a baby pool, according to the city’s website. A study of the city’s aquatic facilities published in 2023 said the pool, which opened in 1936, needs $4.9 million in critical repairs and amenity upgrades, the most of any of the city facilities.
It costs around $180,000 to run Birdland Pool after all revenue is collected, according to city officials.
More: Des Moines’ Birdland Pool could get closure reprieve
The pool, which was slated to close its doors following the 2025 season, could instead stay largely open through summer 2026. Here’s how city officials intend to keep it running:
Parking fines could increase
Parking fines could go up to $20 from $15 within city limits.
Sanders mentioned the possible fine increase during Des Moines City Council’s hours-long budget discussion in late February, then again during a public budget information session at Polk County River Place.
More: Des Moines may raise parking ticket fines in an effort to fill budget hole. How much:
The city collected about $1 million in parking violations in the fiscal year 2025, according to the city’s recommended budget.
City bites into mosquito abatement program
Des Moines could squash its mosquito abatement program budget by 80% to about $75,000 in the coming fiscal year.
Mosquito abatement, under the Neighborhood Inspections Division, has historically included spray treatments, monitoring in areas with high mosquito populations and testing for diseases like West Nile virus, as well as a hotline where residents can call in to report issues.
The city spent nearly $375,000 on mosquito control in fiscal year 2025, according to Chris Reindl, an inspector supervisor.
More: Des Moines bites into mosquito control program, reduces spraying and cuts testing
The proposal calls for the city to scrap ULV adulticide spraying, mosquito trap testing, and a hotline where residents could call to report standing water or high levels of mosquitoes, Reindl said in an email. Residents used to be able to call the hotline to request to be on the “no-spray list.”
It also will amend the contract with Clarke to provide one aerial larvicide treatment — which targets mosquitoes in the larval stage to prevent them from becoming adults — sometime in late April or early May at sites where mosquito breeding can occur, according to Reindl.
The treatment will include locations in east and southeast Des Moines, as well as near Sargent Park on the northeast side and along both sides of the Des Moines River on the city’s northwest side, according to the city’s website.
Des Moines Public Library takes a hit
The Des Moines Public Library social worker position, previously held by Ashlan Lippert, was eliminated following Lippert’s departure.
Sue Woody, head of the Des Moines library, also will be unable to replace two retiring librarians, shifting staff focus from programming to administrative work. Woody announced her own retirement on Friday.
More: How Des Moines Public Library is navigating librarian cuts, possible Iowa law changes
Lippert was hired in 2023 as the library’s first social worker — a role aimed at helping the growing number of downtown visitors seeking food, clothes, jobs and housing, instead of books and literacy programs.
Woody previously said she is figuring out how to continue Lippert’s efforts, especially with the outreach program, and exploring partnerships with local social services such as Primary Health Care, which already is working with the city and directly with unsheltered people to bring them to services.
In a document, city officials noted the library is governed by a library Board of Trustees, which adopts library policies and makes decisions on staff and materials. The city provides an annual budget to the library board, which is used at its discretion.
Trash, sewer rates slated to rise
Also on Monday’s City Council agenda for consideration are increases to solid waste and sanitary sewer fees.
The city is proposing a $2.25 rate increase to solid waste bills across the board, except for those who qualify for subsidized rates.
This would bring the monthly rate of the first 64 gallons to $16.81 from $14.56 and the first 96 gallons to $17.91 from $15.66. The city collects trash, yard waste and recyclables from about 66,000 homes.
More: How much could trash, sewer rates rise in Des Moines this summer?
For sanitary sewer, the city recommends a 6% rate increase for the fiscal year 2026 and again for 2027, bringing the total monthly cost to $9.84 and $10.43 per 1,000 gallons of water, respectively.
Des Moines’ rate for stormwater went to $19.29 from $18.20 in fiscal year 2026, though Des Moines Finance Director Nick Schaul said rates for 2026 had been approved last year.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on X at @vbarreda2.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines’ Creative Visions loses violence prevention program funding