“Let the People Decide”
City Council agreed to “let the people decide” if Cathedral City residents
want to approve adding a ¾ of 1% transaction and use tax to their sales tax in
November.
A person who spends $500 a month on taxable items in Cathedral City would
pay an additional $3.75.
The additional income raised by the measure would go to the City’s General
Fund that supports City services such as Police, Fire, emergency, park and
recreation, and road maintenance, among many other services.
Both the Police and Fire departments are staffed at levels significantly
below what national public safety organizations say they should be for a
city the size of Cathedral City. With ever increasing demands for service,
emergency response times are increasing, there is a 70% chance that all
available officers are already assigned to a case when a person calls 911.
Police and Fire Fighters are stretched thin, working extra days and hours.
As of April 2005, in California, there were 61 districts in 34 counties
including 29 cities that charge a Transaction and Use tax above their base
sales tax to finance a variety of services and needs including: public
safety services, local hospitals, road repairs and capital projects.
86% of the California population resides in a transaction and use tax
district.
Energy Efficiency Tune-Ups for Seniors
Cathedral City Seniors should call the City’s Environmental Conservation
Manager at (760) 770-0369 to schedule a free energy efficiency tune-up. A
certified contractor will be sent to your house at no cost to you and will
provide up to $200 in energy saving upgrades for your home. You will not be
asked to pay for or buy anything. The contractor will recommend additional
energy saving improvements you can make to your home and refer you to other
energy saving utility programs.
The program is paid for by the Southern California Gas Company and Southern
California Edison under the auspices of the California Public Utilities
Commission.
Cove Sewer Project Groundbreaking
Cove residents can expect to see a construction operations trailer and site
preparation lot go up on the empty lot just south of the Ice Rink. There
will be equipment storage sites on four separate lots along Cathedral Canyon
Drive.
The Cove Project Groundbreaking Celebration is scheduled to take place in
the early afternoon of Wednesday, September 13 – details to follow. Site
preparation and other construction activities will begin before that time.
Curious Details
2006 demographic information has just been released by ESRI. The data is
based on forecasts from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing and
includes such Cathedral City information as:
