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Des Moines council approves city manager's appointment of new police chief
Summary
On Oct. 9, 2024, the Des Moines council voted 7-0 to approve the city manager's appointment of a new police chief after brief remarks praising outgoing Chief Wingert and endorsing the internal selection; the transcript shows inconsistent spellings of the appointee's name.
On Oct. 9, 2024, the Des Moines council approved the city manager's appointment of the next chief of police by a 7-0 vote.
The appointment item was introduced by Unidentified Speaker 1 as "approval of the city manager's appointment of the chief of police, Major Michael Taggart." The motion to approve was moved and seconded on the record and the presiding officer called for a vote; Unidentified Speaker 2 announced "7 yes" and the motion carried.
Unidentified Speaker 3 offered extended remarks in support of the appointment, thanking the city manager and praising outgoing Chief Wingert. Speaker 3 said the manager's steady leadership "paid off for the city and the people of Des Moines" and called the selection of the new chief "a really strong statement about the city," adding that the appointee "has a real vision for how to improve." Unidentified Speaker 4 echoed support and said constituents in Ward 2 had been positive about the choice.
The meeting record contains inconsistent references to the appointee's name: the item is introduced as "Major Michael Taggart" and later speakers refer to "McTaggart" or similar variants. The transcript does not reconcile those spellings; the council approved the manager's appointment as it appears in the meeting record.
There was no extended public comment on the item in the record. After the vote, council members offered brief congratulations; an attendee noted they had been muted but that their "yes" vote had been recorded. The presiding officer closed the meeting.
The approval was procedural: the council approved the manager's appointment on the record and did not take additional formal steps during this meeting to detail the new chief's duties or an effective start date.
