Finance director briefs Des Moines Citizens Advisory Board on mid‑biennium budget review

Jeff Friend, Des Moines finance director, told the Citizens Advisory Board on Oct. 20 that the city is conducting a mid‑biennium review of the 2025–26 biennial budget rather than presenting a new annual proposal.

“This year, it’s a mid biennium budget review,” Friend said, describing the off‑year required under state law when a city adopts a two‑year budget.

The review, Friend said, focuses on aligning the adopted 2025–26 budget with current revenue forecasts and on restoring cash reserves. He told the board the general fund for 2026 is budgeted at about $26.4 million in revenues and roughly $26.2 million in expenditures and that the city will propose reducing some revenue estimates and trimming budgeted spending as part of the mid‑biennium changes.

Friend outlined how the city organizes money into fund families: governmental funds (the general fund, special revenue, debt service, capital projects and internal service funds) and enterprise funds, which the city…