Please share the following email with other members of your organization:
· Infrastructure and Development Forum on Monday, October 17th
· Community Enrichment Forum on Wednesday, October 26th
· Public Safety Forum on Thursday, October 27th
The City of Des Moines is reaching out to the community to gather input on how residents want tax dollars spent and what city services citizens value the most. Like many organizations and households today the City of Des Moines has tightened its budget. Now declining revenues are projected to result in a funding gap, such that tough choices about service levels have to be made.
We have set in motion a process by which departments are exploring options and we want your help. Given the City has cut over $24 million from our operating budget over the past five years, we do not have the luxury of simply making a few cuts here and there to balance the budget. We are faced with considering which city services may need to be significantly reduced or eliminated entirely.
The City has worked hard to maintain essential services in spite of ongoing expense reduction. The City Council desires citizen input to help shape the ultimate mix of services that will be provided by your city government. To fully engage the public, we have set up a series of three town hall forums.
Each of the forums will focus on one of three areas of service: public safety, community enrichment, and infrastructure and development. In addition to the city service review, small group discussions will be followed by ranking exercises to gauge the priorities of the participants. This is a great opportunity to influence city services in an educated and well informed manner. Staff from the appropriate departments will be on hand to answer questions and take suggestions about potential changes. All three meetings will take place at the Botanical Center and start at 6:00 pm. They are anticipated to take 90 minutes. The dates and topics are as follows.
· Infrastructure and Development Forum on Monday, October 17th
· Community Enrichment Forum on Wednesday, October 26th
· Public Safety Forum on Thursday, October 27th
Attached to this email is a media release that occurred on Friday, October 7, 2011 that contains details regarding the forums and special accommodations.
Again, I sincerely encourage you to attend and participate in these vital discussions about our City’s future.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Clark
City Manager
City of Des Moines
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