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Des Moines presents 2026 budget that leans on reserves, tighter staffing and higher fees
Summary
City manager Scott Sanders told the City Council the proposed 2026 budget reflects new limits on property-tax growth, a roughly $17 million structural shortfall resolved with a mix of reserve use, spending shifts and staffing reductions, and a planned separate council resolution to raise the minimum general fund balance.
Des Moines city staff on Thursday presented a recommended 2026 budget that relies on a mix of one-time reserves, fund transfers and program cuts to close an estimated roughly $17 million shortfall while signaling a new, tighter posture for future budgets. City Manager Scott Sanders said the city is responding to changes in how property-tax growth is applied and that “property taxes are now limited on growth,” which reduces how much new valuation produces operating revenue.
Sanders and finance staff said the recommended package uses about $2.8 million of the general fund balance this year, repurposes other fund balances and shifts some costs to the local-option sales tax; it also counts on savings from vacancies and attrition, and…
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