No July 26th Council Meeting
The July 26th City Council meeting has been cancelled due to a lack of a
quorum. A special City Council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday,
August 1st. Closed Session will begin at 3 pm; the study session will begin
at approximately 5 pm; and the evening session will begin at 6:30.
Discussion and decision of whether or not to put a tax measure on the ballot
will be on the agenda for the evening session.
Community Meeting Reminder
The next Cathedral City Neighborhood Community Meeting is scheduled to take
place on Tuesday, July 18, at 6 p.m. at Landau Elementary School.
Neighborhood Community Meetings are informal opportunities for citizens and
members of the City Council to discuss topics of importance to the
community.
Why did Cathedral City Do a Community Survey?
In 1999 local voters chose not to continue a Community Services District
tax. This removed about $3.5 million from the city’s general fund – a
reduction of 18%. Since that time, two tax measures – “O” and “J” – that
tried to restore some of this lost revenue were also defeated. These
individual measures today, had they passed, would be generating
approximately $4.5 - $5 million for the City’s general fund.
Because these measures did not pass, in 2003, the City cut its budget by
approximately 13% by discontinuing the City’s Parks & Recreation department,
not filling 16 positions, not watering City parks, and not providing cost of
living adjustments for City employees since July 2003.
Many citizens have contacted the City Council and staff with concerns about
police and fire response times, street maintenance, street sweeping,
watering, a soccer park, and a swimming pool among other important services.
Cathedral City conducted a benchmark survey to verify the community’s
priorities, opinions on the City’s financial circumstances, willingness to
pay for more services, and, if so, what kind of tax?
Entryway at Date Palm and I-10
By way of clarification, the Public Arts Commission did not select an
orange, blue purple and white stained glass for the Date Palm and I-10
entryway as reported in a local newspaper. The Public Arts Commission looked
at several aesthetic designs including: “cathedralesque,” “environmental,”
and “spirit of the desert” concepts. The Commission favored the
“cathedralesque” aesthetic approach, which is based on an arch theme.
Stained glass may be included in some part of the design, but no specific
design was presented nor selected.
Public Safety Rises To and Faces Challenges
The 2006 -2007 Police Department budget reflects 93 police positions of
which 18 are vacant. A city the size of Cathedral City should have at least
132 positions. The City has the lowest police budget per capita in the
Coachella Valley, but due to the more than 110% effort the Department
demonstrates every day, Cathedral City enjoys the lowest crime rate in the
Valley according to 2005 UCR Crime Statistics.
The Fire Department has 56 positions in it 2006 -2007 budget, of which 6 are
vacant. There should be 126.
Public safety personnel are stretched working extra hours, extra shifts and
extra days – a safety issue for them as well as the community.
Notice of Election
For those interested and qualified to run for public office in Cathedral
City, official nomination documents will be available at the City Clerk’s
Office between July 17, 2006 and August 10, 2006. Please call the City Clerk
for an appointment at (760)-770-0385. Appointments are mandatory and take
about one hour. Please do not come to the City Clerk’s Office without an
appointment. There are 5 seats up for election on November 7th: two Council
seats, the City Clerk and Treasurer seats, and the seat for Mayor are up.
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