False Alarm!

We hear the word "change" a lot now, and it's a word with both good and bad associations. In West Des Moines, we work hard to ensure that all change is positive - although that can be an elusive goal!

There are several small ways we try to encourage change in the City. Here is one small example. Let's call it a "motivational tool."

Over the years, the number of alarm calls for service has been a concern for our Police Department. An overwhelming majority of those calls turn out to be false alarms that unnecessarily consume city resources. A false alarm is any call from security, fire or other specialized electronic or mechanical alarms or alarm systems that is not triggered by an actual safety issue or event. There are bound to be a number of false alarm calls, of course--it would be impossible to eliminate them. To examine what the City could do, we simply got a small group of employees together under the umbrella of our quality program (which emphasizes continuous improvement) and considered options to reduce the number of false alarm calls. That group's recommendations came to fruition in 2002, when we enacted a False Alarm Ordinance. That year, the Police Department received 2,470 false alarm calls. In fact, 6.4% of ALL calls for service directed to the Police Department were false alarms.

Fortunately, the number of alarm calls has decreased consistently since 2002 thanks in large part to the ordinance. Among other things, the ordinance increased the penalty for false alarms, assured that businesses take responsibility for recurring false alarms in the same 24 hour period, required an alarm function that can deactivate a bad sensor or alarm zone, required alarm companies to be licensed with the city, and set up an appeals process for contesting false alarm violations.

The change over time is evident:

2002 - 2,370 alarm calls
2003 - 2,185 alarm calls
2004 - 1,800 alarm calls
2005 - 1,819 alarm calls
2006 - 1,683 alarm calls
2007 - 1,665 alarm calls
2008 - 1,457 alarm calls

Since the ordinance, the percentage of calls for services due to alarms has decreased to 3.0%. Alarm calls are at their lowest level since 2000, the earliest year from which we have data, and have decreased 41% since 2002. In 2008, the PD received 1,457 alarm calls for service, 72 of which were recorded by WestCom dispatch as "good" alarms needing officer follow-up. So while the majority of alarm calls (in 2008, 95%) are still false alarms, we have taken action to limit the resources spent on those calls, which frees officers up to respond to more urgent calls for service.

Citizen Academies - making safety more exciting

As a citizen of West Des Moines, you are no doubt interested in the safety of your home, neighborhood, and community. Our biannual citizen survey attempts to measure the feeling of safety in the community, and in 2008 95% of residents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the feeling of safety here. The remaining 5% were neutral. It is extremely important to our public safety staff at the City to provide as many educational opportunities as possible to residents and business owners so that you are equipped to prevent problems from occurring or prepared to respond to problems when forced to.

One manifestation of that goal are the citizen academies held by our police and fire departments. Both are in the process of recruiting candidates for the next class--the police academy will hold its 8th annual class beginning in March, and the fire academy will hold its sixth class at a date to be determined.

These citizen academies contain both classroom style learning and active, hands-on opportunities to learn what your public safety personnel are trained to do professionally. They both provide an exceptional opportunity to get to know your city police officers or fire fighters, and to get a better idea of what it takes to keep a community safe.

If you are interested in either of the upcoming academies, you can read more on our website about the police academy or the fire academy, and learn how to apply.

Find Your Address on a FEMA Flood Map

Did you know you can search for your property on the FEMA website to identify where you are located in relation to a floodplain or flood hazard zone? You can create and print maps online through FEMA's website. All you need are some basic instructions (which you can find on the City website), your property's address, and a little patience to go through the steps on your computer and adjust the maps views. Given last year's abundance of water in Iowa, it is worth taking a look at any areas where you own property.

Raising Kids in WDM?

Even though BusinessWeek named West Des Moines as one of the cities likely to be hardest hit by the financial crisis (an article we rebutted on our own website and that I mentioned here), they included West Des Moines on their Best Places to Raise Your Kids in 2009 listing for being "kid-friendly" and "cost-friendly." Read why West Des Moines was chosen or the full article text.

Sustainability Effort Moving Ahead

In November, the Des Moines Register published the Green Cities segment of its climate change series, discussing what some Iowa cities are doing to become more sustainable. In West Des Moines, we are moving closer to hiring a sustainability expert to enhance our current efforts to make our organization more sustainable. In October, a small committee made up of representatives from the City Manager's Office, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and a Metro Waste Authority employee conducted interviews of three candidates who submitted proposals to serve as a Sustainability consultant. Two firms were interviewed and both had excellent resources to assist the City in this effort. An agreement between the City and ERM (Environmental Resource Management), an international firm that also has an office on Mills Civic Parkway, should be drawn up soon based on the Curb IT! Revenue Sharing funds that are available for use.

With the help of the consultant, a steering committee of city employees will be developed to lay out the vision and goals for this initiative. Then, smaller groups of city employees will be asked to head up projects based on their volunteered interest in the topic. Any initiatives that come out of this group will be submitted to the Curb It! Revenue sharing program for additional funding. Watch here for more updates on our program as it unfolds, and read the Green Cities article (find West Des Moines on the digital map) for more information on what we are currently doing as a City.