Background Information
The city of Des Moines is located in Central Iowa and is one of the nine cities
in the Iowa CIPA project. For more detailed information about the city, please
go to:
In fall 2000, the city administration expressed interest in the concept of citizen-initiated performance assessment. At that time, the city was already a member of the performance measurement program organized by the International City/County Management Association, and had begun to implement performance measurement in different departments. Here are some examples of performance measures adopted by the city government:
The city manager and staff believe that it is important to ask citizens what they are concerned about, so that the city truly measures the effectiveness and impacts of public services from the citizen's perspective. In fall 2000, the city management asked the Des Moines Neighborhood Association to discuss whether it was interested in the CIPA project. After some discussion with the citizen representatives, the Neighborhood Association passed a supporting motion in December 2000. Later, the city council of Des Moines also passed a resolution to participate in the CIPA project.
Governing Structure
As of 2001, the following are the members of the city council:
Mayor Preston Daniels, Mike McPherson, Tom Vlassis, Archie Brooks, Chris Coleman, George Flagg and Chris Hensley.
The city council appoints the city manager, Eric Anderson, who provides managerial assistance to the council in the daily operation of the city government. The city council also appoints various boards and commissions to help the governance of the city. They include the Airport Board, the Enterprise Community Steering Committee, the Historic District Commission, the Library Trustees, the Licensing and Appeals Board, the Public Housing Board, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and others.
Major Responsibilities of the City Government
The city government is responsible for four major areas of public services:
1. Community Protection (per-capita spending in FY2001: $359)
Police, fire, street lighting, traffic control, flood control, and other protective
services
2. Home and Community Development (per-capita spending in FY2001: $1,711)
Community and economic development, housing, public works, landfill/garbage,
street cleaning, transit, community beautification, and airport
3. Human Development (per-capita spending in FY2001: $332)
Library, park and recreation, welfare assistance, social services, environmental
protection and pest control, and human rights
4. Policy and Administration (per-capita spending in FY2001: $142)
City manager's office, finance, and other administrative functions
The city government is not responsible for the K-12 education, the metropolitan transit, water treatment and distribution, wastewater treatment, and landfill services. These services are managed and provided by other independent governing bodies.
Citizen Performance Team
The following citizens are the members of the citizen performance team:
Linda Adamson, Ken Ballard, Chris Johansen, Lynn Wright, Shirley Shaw, Jo Corigliano, Nan Stilliane, Bob Mickle, Christine Paskins, Lela Behn, Tony Schmitt, Marilyn Bruce, Marylou Brua
They are responsible for developing performance measures for the Iowa CIPA project.