Failed budget amendments prompt larger discussion about future of policing in Iowa City

IOWA CITY — Two amendments proposed by council member Laura Bergus to Iowa City’s upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget — intended to shift funds from the Iowa City Police Department to the general reserve fund — failed after hours of public comment and council discussion Tuesday.

Bergus first brought up the proposed funding decrease in January. In February, she published an essay on her campaign website titled “Investing in Community Safety” that explores how policing in Iowa City could change and steps to get there.

“I will not vote to increase police funding,” Bergus wrote in the essay. “Instead, let’s invest in preventing harm and supporting the work of organizations who know how to empower people.”

Bergus’ first amendment during Tuesday’s budget discussion would have shifted $1.6 million from the police department, but it failed with only Bergus voting in favor. The second amendment, to shift just under $1 million, also failed with only Bergus and council member Andrew Dunn voting in favor.

The mayor and council members agreed with Bergus that the city needs to prioritize efforts to restructure the police department toward a community policing structure that was called for in 2020. But they didn’t think the budget amendment was the way to do so.

Mayor Bruce Teague said he agrees on moving “swiftly” and needing a “systemic change” but said there needs to be “a more holistic approach” and an opportunity for the community to come together.

Mayor Pro Tem Megan Alter added she is “not willing to divert funds from the police budget for an undetermined project and in a way that is well intended but rushed.” These were some of the main concerns voiced by other council members too.

“This is too important. The holistic and systemic changes that we're talking about deserve thought, deliberation, intentionality and figuring out a plan so that then we can budget the dollars for it and sustain it beyond (fiscal year) 24,” Alter said.

Council members are all in agreement on moving forward with the restructuring plan, which was adopted in December 2020. The plan contains 36 recommendations on restructuring the city’s police department with a focus on diverting calls for service from the police to trained civilians, creating a continuum of responses to mental health crisis calls, having unbiased policing and moving forward.

The council is planning to continue discussions about the future of the police department at future work sessions, as well as hear an update from city staff on the restructuring plan.

The fiscal year 2024 budget was approved without changes in a 6 to 1 vote Tuesday, with Bergus voting against.

Comments show support for renewed discussions

The public’s support for Bergus’ amendments was clear during Tuesday’s meeting that was held over Zoom due to anticipated severe weather.

Nearly all of the 50 individuals who spoke during public comment agreed with Bergus, saying the department doesn’t need more money, and funds should instead be reallocated to support mental health and other social services or community efforts. Due to the number of speakers, individuals were limited to one minute during public comment instead of the regular three minutes.

Karen Kubby, business owner and former city council member, said she hopes the council takes “bold action” because “we know that more emphasis on social services and different ways of providing community safety work.”

Resident Sean McRoberts added that it’s important to create relationships that build trust and community.

“Increased investments in policing don’t get us there, but funding neighborhood level collaboration does,” Roberts said.

Resident Hannah Zadeh said, “When we listen to the most marginalized people in our community, we know that the answer is never the police.”

The city council also received 29 emails ahead of Tuesday’s meeting on this topic. All supported Bergus’ amendment.

Looking at police department’s budget

Iowa City’s fiscal year 2024 budget, which begins July 1, calls for a $955,336 increase to the police department’s budget, going from $16.4 million in current fiscal 2023 to $17.3 million.

The department’s budget has increased 25 percent over the last seven years, from $13.8 million in fiscal 2018 to $17.3 million in fiscal 2024. The average annual increase is around 4 percent.

The key cost drivers have largely remained the same: wages, benefits, information technology support, fuel and vehicle replacements. City Manager Geoff Fruin said the department ends each year under budget.

In his presentation to council, Fruin highlighted how a $1.6 million reduction could impact services, including the loss of community policing positions, a reduction in investigations capacity, an inability to offer new services, and diminished emergency response.

The reduction would also lead to a continued reliance on overtime, as well as challenges with recruitment and retention, Fruin said. The department had more than 18,500 hours of overtime last year, which Fruin called “startling” and “not sustainable.”

Fruin also highlighted city investments since 2020, including the GuideLink Center, mobile crisis expansion, funds for a new Domestic Violence Intervention Program shelter, mental health liaison partnerships and more.

“We share the same goals,” Fruin said. “We want to get to that same spot and Chief Liston wants to get to that same spot. The men and women of the Iowa City Police Department want to get to that spot where we're preventing as many calls as possible, when we're diverting calls to other agencies that may be better equipped to handle that. But I don't think that defund approach is the way to get there.”

Bergus: ‘Status quo budget means status quo policing’

During Tuesday night’s meeting, Bergus said the increased budget is the “status quo,” which is getting more difficult to maintain with recruitment challenges and high overtime hours. Bergus challenged her colleagues to think about what innovation in the police department could look like.

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“It's really about taking the chance to craft a future that we want to live in together that is not based in fear but is based in hope and community and strengthening our neighborhoods and finding and modeling ways as public servants, which armed officers unfortunately often cannot do because of their uniform, because of their firearm, to model ways for us to show up and care for each other,” Bergus said.

“I think a status quo budget means status quo policing,” she added.

Responding to Bergus, council member Shawn Harmsen said Bergus’ comment about “taking the chance to craft a future” resonated with him.

“I think that is exactly what we should be doing, but I want to add to that — I want to take the time to craft it carefully,” Harmsen said.

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