The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 13

The Des Moines Register GC mrrwmmmmmmmmm OPINION Saturday, June 12, 2004 Page 13A Iowa Views 3 .3 Progress or Unnecessary? Vi7 fs7n nnncrPT7 nnr on I ill Li wuu yuuuj Savings through efficiency, jobs through growth D.M. will pay 80 percent of taxes, but elect 50 percent of the officials By JACK HATCH and DAVID OMAN By NED CHIODO 0 Nov. 2, Polk County voters have a great opportunity to move metro governance into the 21st century, 1 he charter proposal to merge the city of Des Moines and Polk County is "taxation without representation." just as we are rebuilding our schools, the 1-235 freeway and making other strides. The Des Moines-Polk county commission approved it with a margin of only two votes. Three of the "yes" votes were cast by The 46-member Des Moines-Polk County charter commission began holding public meetings on the proposed charter in February 2002.

Under the plan to be on the Nov. 2 ballot, the governments of Polk County and Des Moines would merge under a part-time city council of 15 members, a full-time mayor who would be elected countywide and a county manager who would be appointed by the mayor. The mayor would have the power to appoint all members of various boards and commissions, subject to council approval. Other cities in the county could opt into the merged government later. A copy of the merger proposal may be found on the Internet at DesMoinesRegister.com opinion With a streamlined government, Greater Des i Moines can better compete with places such as Kansas people who never attended any of the meetings, yet their votes provided the winning margin.

Under the current proposal, Des Moines residents lose their right of self-determination while the suburbs are protected and even given a vote on the uty ana tne I win uties tor mobile young people. Local young people "get it," and their names represent a large number of the 13,000 signatures that triggered a public discussion of shared will control the city's budget. This objection is unfounded. The proposal protects city residents from losing control of their financial base to the suburbs. It states that a majority of the representatives on the new council from Des Moines must approve its budget; just like today.

This safeguard allows regional participation and local control. The citizens' commission debated this point thoroughly and unanimously accepted the local-control principle. Some people fear loss of political control. The Democratic Party, which has controlled the courthouse for 50 years, is threatened by prospects of more suburban influence; the Republican Party is concerned because the elections will be partisan instead of nonpartisan. While municipal elections in Iowa are nonpartisan, county elections are partisan and usually stimulate greater public debate and voter partjcipatioa Partisan elections have been shown to increase voter turnout 300 percent more than nonpartisan municipal elections.

This new structure could be a "party-building" experience for Democrats and Republicans, while strengthening the greater community's hand in dealings with legislators, who are also chosen on a partisan basis. Some people focus concerns on organized labor and the possibility of eliminating jobs. Some jobs will be lost, but not likely from collective-bargaining occupations. The net result of merging the Des Moines council and Polk Board of Supervisors will be consolidation of redundant functions, such as personnel, information-technology systems, purchasing, printing, traffic and engineering, planning, economic development and so on. These "administrative" functions most likely will not lose collective-bargaining positions but they will lose managers.

Savings will occur through more efficient services. It has been shown around the country that newly merged areas stimulate economic growth. With new growth Hatch Chiodo i governance of the city of Des Moines and Polk Tnimtv in "XtOJO. A formal charter approved by the City-County Consolidation Commission to create a new county council and county execu ride. Even if Des Moines had enough votes on the council, a mayor who received most of his votes outside Des Moines could veto a resolution that would reduce Des Moines taxes and increase taxes in the suburbs.

When there is a division among the members from Des Moines on issues that deal only with Des Moines, members from the suburbs cast the deciding votes. Even when there is a majority of votes from Des Moines members, the non-Des Moines members can join with the Des Moines members who are in the minority to outvote the majority of Des Moines members on a strictly Des Moines issue. This provision alone gives the suburban council members tremendous leverage on the Des Moines members. Even if the mayor vetoed the item, the combination of Des Moines votes in the minority and the suburban votes could override the veto. Des Moines residents give up control over their city government in return for the hope that merging services might result in some tax relief.

This result depends totally on the willingness of the non-Des Moines council members to vote for those mergers. I don't believe that council members representing the suburbs will vote to increase taxes on their residents so Des Moines residents can receive a tax reduction, although theoretically such a vote is possible. Savings will have to come only from economies of scale and will be allocated proportionally. There will be no cost-shifting unless the non-Des Moines council members agree to have their taxes increased. Theoretically, some back-room deal could be made, and taxes could be shifted to the suburbs with lower taxes for Des Moines residents, but the citizens of Des Moines should not count on it.

Suburban residences risk having their taxes increased in return for having a say in the governance of Des Moines. Merging to present a picture to others that our community is larger will not fool anyone who bases decisions on size. After merging, there will be the same number of people living in the Des Moines area. All of the merging of services that this new council could do can be done currently through 28E agreements with a total of seven votes three county supervisors and four city council members. If voters approve the merger, it will take 10 votes of the new council, making it harder to merge services, not easier.

Supporters point to the possible $5 million in savings with the merger of county offices and their comparable city offices. This saving would take a two-thirds vote of the new council and would result in a tax increase for the suburbs. Wishful thinking for those of us who live in Des Moines. If you want better government, vote for better people. Oman fl? government of Des Moines.

Des Moines residents have no similar say in the suburbs' government. The taxpayers of Des Moines would pay about 80 percent of the taxes controlled by the new merged council. Currently, 10 of the 12 votes (Des Moines City Council plus the Polk Board of Supervisors) are elected by Des Moines residents who pay 80 percent of the taxes and elect 80 percent of the officials who spend their tax money. With a merger, Des Moines taxpayers still pay 80 percent of the taxes but elect 50 percent or fewer of the officials who spend their tax money. It could take 67 percent of the votes to spend or cut taxes for Des Moines, but only 51 percent of the votes to spend or cut taxes for the suburbs.

The mayor will have power to appoint all members of boards and commissions. There is no requirement that a representative percentage of members be from Des Moines, even when the board deals with an issue only affecting the city of Des Moines. Members of the merged council elected by Des Moines residents will not be in control of spending exclusively for Des Moines projects that affect only Des Moines taxpayers without the vote of at least some suburban council members. For example: Des Moines council members wish to reduce spending on a 5tH VI -fa tive will be on the ballot. We have until November to debate philosophy, look at examples around the country of how consolidation has saved money and the benefits and risks linked to this proposal.

Can we at least agree that it is in the area's best interests to have a thoughtful, fact-based conversation? A clear-eyed look at the status quo and at the future led 46 residents from every Polk community to create the draft charter. Consider the biggest fears some people have about the merger: Some people who want to kill the idea of a more modern government say with a straight face that they object because it doesn't go far enough, with the suburbs remaining independent. No political leader suggested total consolidation during the deliberations of the citizens' commission because of the realization of how politically impossible that is. The proposed is politically real and substantively important. Polk and Des Moines have the two largest local government budgets in the state.

A combined budget authority would be sufficient to create meaningful change to benefit the region, including the suburbs. We would see elected leaders together deciding public policy on common ground instead of pointing fingers or ducking issues. This is regional cooperation at its best. Some in Des Moines fear the suburbs comes new, higher-paying jobs. The support Iowans give to this merger has to be based on learning the facts, understanding that keeping the status quo is not always best and looking for greater opportunities.

This proposal provides a meaningful, progressive approach toward regional cooperation. This "people's plan" will stand up to scrutiny and honest questioning. How we structure our government for the next 100 years or more deserves detailed discussion, not demagoguery. service because it is used substantially by non-Des Moines residents and Des Moines taxpayers are paying the tax bill. There isn't a two-thirds vote of the council to merge the service, and Des Moines doesn't have enough votes on its own.

Result: Des Moines pays the bill, and the rest of the county gets a free St TZ i j. uinin Mi-Mian raw. 6j I Party who served on the commission. i ti- i fl NED CHI0D0 served as vice chairman of the Des Molnes-Polk County consolidation commission and Is a former Polk County auditor. i r' pM i.r nil km iM EX 'iiM 'ii' 3 teMl rT2k C-jrrvU ill- t-r." fSflLP SHV3 mill i (7'mm mmm-t--- MM vH '-tot- k- Jimk v' -4ak 1 1 1 unu 1 U4-' LJT, 1 if it Jl.

-Jt- riO. Xrt LaV EiV i -K-jr -wjnatm wtii i ri iniinwripn wtiwwm tn i in. i i ROBERT NANDELLTHE REGISTER Depressed and dosed kids in the absence of quality time By KATHLEEN PARKER The smarter we get, the dumber we are. Consider the celebratory tone of two stories from the New York Times. One announced that anti We embrace and celebrate the pill fix because it suits us, not because it's really good news for kids who are depressed because no one has time for them.

The cure merely reiterates the source of the problem. You don't have to be a shrink to know these things. You just have to have raised a child or two. Or spent time in a child-care center, or been a nanny. The caregivers know.

Yes, some children suffer severe depression that may require urgent medical treatment. But there's something wrong when millions of children are taking antidepressants, and the answer is likely in eight words: People just don't want to take the time. KATHLEEN PARKER writes for the Orlando Sentinel. depressants such as Prozac work better on adolescent depression than "talk therapy." The other good-news story floated rainbow balloons Anyone who has participated in analysis knows it can take months to years for a trusting therapist-client relationship to develop and for results to evolve. A pill might produce immediate chemical improvement, but talking is the way to understanding.

The cure for severe depression may include doctor-dispensed medicine, but the cure for what ails the growing number of "depressed" children more likely has to do with our objectif ication of children, who increasingly are vehicles for adult self-fulfillment. It's all about Moi. The problem is that Me-ness is the natural and age-appropriate view of children, not parents. In the Prozac and restaurant-nanny stories, the common thread is adult convenience at children's expense. Although information has been analyzed only for the first 12 weeks, early reports conclude that those in the fourth group did best, while those receiving only Prozac did better than those receiving only talk therapy.

Oddly, the study also found that all four groups were effective in reducing the risk for teen suicide. All four? Even the placebo group? Might it be that the kids taking placebos felt better because they were getting some caring attention? Just a thought. It's not surprising that a pill that changes brain chemistry would show quicker, "better" results than an approach that is, alas, time-consuming. But to assume that a pill is, therefore, a better approach to curing depression seems weirdly short-sighted. Not necessarily, obviously.

But we might pause for a moment (if one has time) to consider the possibility that the trends that make nanny restaurants a lucrative niche are the same ones that lead to increasing diagnoses of childhood and adolescent depressioa As a friend put it: "It's depressing when your parents don't care about you." The anti-depressant story, though reported as a high-five moment in psychiatric circles, suggested something else for those reading between the lines. The study which spanned 36 weeks and included 439 youths ages 12 to 17 suffering moderate to severe depression divided the kids into four groups that received 1) Prozac only; 2) talk therapy only; 3) placebo pills; 4) Prozac and talk. in a segregated "play" area while parents indulge in uninterrupted, adult musings. And we wonder why kids are depressed? A quote in the article aptly summed up what both stories are really about. Commenting on the pill report, a psychiatry professor declared it good news "because it's hard to get people into cognitive (talk) therapy anymore.

They just don't want to take the time." Eight words they just don't want to take the time pretty much cover it. Parents, exhausted from work and eager for their own playtime, don't want to take the time to engage their children. Better to let a stranger in another part of the restaurant baby-sit the little rage incubators. Who will be taking Prozac one day soon? around the latest fad for the busy set: restaurants with nannies. No longer do chardonnay-sip-ping parents have to put up with whiny children demanding attention.

Now parents can plunk down a few extra bucks for their kids to hang with other stranger-children.