Balancing budget troubles now with city's future, the Des Moines City Council voted to keep Economic Development Director Marion Yoshino to the end of her contract in April.

The city faces a general fund deficit of $1.4 million and a continued reliance on one-time revenues to balance the budget.

"If you look at the one-time revenue we are using to balance the budget we don't have the ongoing revenue to continue doing what we are doing now," City Manager Tony Piasecki said.

Yoshino was hired in July as a temporary economic development director, with a nine-month contract. Yoshino is working on an economic development plan for Des Moines, as well as upgrading the city website and creating a new website for the city.

Yoshino had volunteered at the city, performing the job of before the position was created.

For the nine-month contract, Yoshino is being paid $70,512. If her contract was terminated early at the beginning of the year it would have saved the city $32,108.

"We are working very hard to have a city that is shovel ready," Councilman Matt Pina said. "I don't want people finding us by chance."

The council has spent quite a bit of time creating development guidelines for downtown Des Moines, known as the Marina District.

Pina said there is a perception Des Moines is not business friendly, and in her short time at the city Yoshino has gone a long way to changing that.

Councilman Dan Sherman said, "If we are thinking about the long term health of the city we need an economic development plan."

Mayor Bob Sheckler said he looks for a return on investment and he feels the return the city will get by having Yoshino is worth the cost.

Councilwoman Carmen Scott said she feels Yoshino's work will pay for itself.

Not everyone was in agreement the money was being spent in the right place. While no one disagreed with the value of an economic development director some felt it was a luxury and not a priority, especially with the condition of the city's finances.

The vote was 4-2 to not cut Yoshino's contract early. Mayor Pro-tem Dave Kaplan and Councilman Scott Thomasson voted against the keeping the position on the budget. Councilwoman Melissa Musser was absent from the Nov. 4 meeting, but she voted against creating the position in the first place, saying it would be a nice thing to have someone in that position, but she did not feel it was a priority.

"I see the value in it but I think we are in a point of uncertainty," Kaplan said. Kaplan voted against the creation of the position as well, and voted against it this time for the same reason, he did not feel, given everything the city is looking at on their budget, that it was a priority that could be invested in at this time.

Thomasson was absent for the vote to create the position, but he had said before that meeting he felt if there was any extra money it should be used to reinstate a police officer. Last year five police officer positions were eliminated to balance the budget when an agreement could not be made between the Police Guild and the city come up with the money by reducing or eliminating the guild's cost of living increase for the year.

Assistant District Attorney Susan Mahoney will be leaving her position at Des Moines to become a District Court judge. She ran against incumbent Judge Judith Eiler.

The assistant attorney position will be frozen for six months, saving the city $64,432. The city attorney will take over those responsibilities in the interim, and the city will contract out for a prosecuting attorney when needed.

Parks and Recreation Director Patrice Thorell told the council things have been stressful this year, with the loss of a recreation manager. Three part-time employees have taken over the responsibilities of the manager, whose job it is to coordinate and schedule events.

Because of finances in recent years that position became one that had to generate the revenues to pay for itself, which Thorell said it could not do.

Sherman brought up the possibility of bringing in another part time employee. Their position could pay for itself with the revenues they bring in, an idea that will be worked on and brought back to council.