Des Moines Citizens Advisory Board sets subcommittee size, term and reporting rules ahead of council confirmations

The Citizens Advisory Board agreed June 25 to formalize how its subcommittees will be structured and how the board will report to the City Council, adopting a minimum membership of three and a maximum of nine for subcommittees, a four-year subcommittee term with a two-year review, and a practice that a CAB member will take official reports to council meetings.

Those decisions were reached during a meeting convened as the city transitions the former Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) into the reconstituted Citizens Advisory Board. Bonnie Wilkins, director of administrative services for the City of Des Moines and acting staff liaison while Tara Vaughn is on vacation, told members they will “stagger the initial terms” after the council makes appointments. Wilkins said, “after tomorrow's appointments, we need to stagger the initial terms,” noting the city will assign initial two- and four-year terms to prevent the whole board from expiring at once.

The measures matter because the CAB and its subcommittees — including human services, senior services and arts — will screen and recommend requests that go to the City Council for final funding and policy action. Under the adopted rules the subcommittees will do the legwork and then bring recommendations to the full CAB for a vote, which will then be forwarded to council.

On the specific votes: the board approved a motion setting subcommittee size with a minimum of three and a maximum of nine members. That motion was moved from the floor and subsequently adopted by the members participating. The board later approved a motion establishing subcommittee membership terms as four years with a two-year review; that motion passed with recorded opposition from one participant. The board also approved a motion that the CAB — not council liaisons — will designate a member to take meeting reports and recommendations back to the City Council; that motion passed with one recorded dissent.

Some members raised procedural concerns about making decisions before the City Council formally appoints the new CAB membership. Several long-serving CAC members said they were worried about the current committee making binding structural decisions for a body that is not yet formally appointed. Randy Richards, who said he lives at the Adriana senior apartments and attends as a senior services representative, told the group, “I feel really outnumbered with this CAC or whatever you call. I feel that we as the members of the senior advisory board, we're down to about 4 now.” Staff and other members responded that the council had already voted to create the CAB and that the work done at this meeting would be advisory and could be revised when the formally appointed CAB convenes.

The meeting also clarified other administrative items: council will make appointments at the City Council meeting the next day and the city will send appointment letters and term assignments after that meeting; subcommittees are expected to meet and report back to the full CAB and the CAB will meet at least three times per year (one meeting to cover the budget); and city staff will finalize code language for the CAB structure once staff attorney review is complete. Bonny Wilkins said she will circulate previous materials summarizing the work of the former senior, human services and arts committees to help new members prepare.

The board discussed but did not adopt firm limits on how many subcommittees an individual CAB member may serve on; members agreed the CAB itself will determine that once fully constituted. Members also discussed concerns about minutes and staff support for subcommittees; staff said meeting minutes and staff support will continue under the CAB structure.

Next steps: the City Council was scheduled to consider and confirm CAB appointments at its next meeting; after that staff will finalize the city code language, stagger initial terms by drawing lots and issue appointment letters. The CAB’s next items on the draft 2025 work plan include records and reporting best practices and selecting a chair or vice chair at a later meeting.

The meeting record shows both substantive debate and procedural disagreement about timing, but the board proceeded to adopt initial governance rules to allow subcommittees to begin work quickly once the council confirms appointments.