Des Moines staff recommends keeping current development-agreement language while council presses for regional fixes and greater transparency

Cody Christiansen, Development Services director for the City of Des Moines, told the City Council at a Feb. 24 workshop that staff recommends keeping the city’s current development-agreement language and relying on state and federal enforcement programs to address concerns about unlicensed contractors, worker misclassification and unsafe job sites. "We recommend continuing to use our current development agreement language," Christiansen said.

Why it matters: the council is weighing whether to add contractual requirements tied to how projects are built — for example, requiring contractors to provide payroll records, lists of subcontractors or apprenticeship commitments — for projects that receive tax-increment financing (TIF) or other city incentives. Proponents say such requirements would raise accountability and help build a local construction workforce; developers and lenders warn about added administrative cost and contract risk.

Christiansen summarized conversations staff held with unions, developers and state agencies. Labor representatives raised recurring concerns about unlicensed out-of-state contractors, subcontractor lists not being available, alleged payroll misclassification (hourly workers treated as subcontractors), workers being paid in cash, uncertified welders and unsafe sites. Staff said the state Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL) enforces…