City Manager Scott Sanders laid off the two employees that make up Des Moines’ sustainability office last Friday, citing budget constraints. Climate partners said they were surprised by the decision, expressing frustration at the lack of transparency and public input on the change.
The sustainability office led Adapt DSM, the city’s climate action plan. One of the goals includes bringing Des Moines to net zero emissions by 2050.
“I want to make it clear that work on sustainability in Des Moines did not end with those positions."Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders
“I want to make it clear that work on sustainability in Des Moines did not end with those positions,” Sanders said at Monday’s city council meeting. “Sustainability is not the responsibility of any one employee or team, but rather a commitment as an organization in the community to continue addressing the impacts of climate change.”
Sanders stated that Des Moines is expecting a $17 million shortfall in the city budget for the next fiscal year. The deficit is a “direct result of reductions in our property tax revenue growth,” he wrote in an email to IPR.
Sanders also wrote that 75% of Des Moines’ operating budget is dedicated to personnel costs. The decision to lay off the sustainability office was a “result of months of analysis” and part of the elimination of positions through “natural attrition.”
Cutting the sustainability department would save the city around $271,000. Experts in each government department will continue to implement Adapt DSM’s tactics in their work.
Climate action leaders express surprise and disappointment
“This is one of the least transparent budget processes that I've been involved in,” Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum said at Monday’s meeting.
Mandelbaum said that Jeremey Caron and Madeline Schmitt, the two employees in the sustainability office, were in positions that were fully funded through the end of the fiscal year. And he said there were other funding options. A grant totaling $250,000 — one they were “virtually guaranteed to get,” Mandelbaum said — was due by Feb. 5. Securing that grant would have allowed the sustainability office to have funding and would have made Des Moines eligible for another $2 million.
“I don’t know how we apply for that [grant] without the staff who had the expertise to apply for that and the relationships,” Mandelbaum said. “I don’t know why the other communities that were deferring to us… would defer to us when we no longer have a department.”
Cody Smith, director of climate initiatives at Iowa Environmental Council, partners with the sustainability office. Last Thursday, before the news of the layoffs, he told IPR that Des Moines had a pending $20 million Community Change Grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that they felt “very confident” about.
The office has brought in about $4 million in grants to help its initiatives, according to Smith.
"So they've more than paid for the small cost, which reflects .03% of the total city budget," Smith told The Des Moines Register. "So they've more than brought that in several times."
Citizens speak up at city council meeting
Concerned Des Moines residents packed the room at the city council meeting on Monday, filling all 20 speaking slots allowed for public comment.
“I was extremely disappointed and confused to learn that city leadership is attempting to undo years of community-led sustainability efforts, starting in 2015 with the formation of a citizen taskforce on sustainability,” said Holly Hanson, president of the Indianola Hills Neighborhood Association and part of the consultant team that developed Adapt DSM.
Hanson watched as the Citizens’ Taskforce helped form emission reduction goals, a sustainability manager position and a climate strategic plan. Carolyn Uhlenhake-Walker, a fellow task force member, noted the lack of support the city has gotten from the state.
“It's going to be very difficult to act on climate change statewide or federally. We must act locally. It will be increasingly important for cities and towns to drive their own efforts for climate action plans,” Uhlenhake-Walker said.
"Asking for organizations and nonprofits to pick up the weight of these eliminated positions is absolutely unacceptable."Jamie Nicolino, owner of a sustainable living shop in Des Moines
Others, like the owner of the sustainable living shop THE COLLECTIVE, Jamie Nicolino, said that the burden of funding should not be offset to nonprofit organizations.
“Instead of making cuts to this office, y'all should be finding money in the budget to further grow our sustainability efforts,” Nicolino said. “Asking for organizations and nonprofits to pick up the weight of these eliminated positions is absolutely unacceptable.”
Residents who spoke at the meeting said the layoffs have left them worried about the future of sustainability in Des Moines. Anna Snyder, a junior at Drake University from Illinois, said young people have to be willing to fight for progress.
“To keep young people in Des Moines, we have to have the freedom to flourish, as our governor likes to say,” Synder said. “But without the ability to live in an environment that is safe, clean and healthy, there is no freedom and no flourishing.”
