Cathedral City staff outline Financial Services budget, cite risk-management costs and housing lien receipts ahead of May 14 preliminary budget vote

Cathedral City staff presented a review of the Financial Services Department to the City Council on April 30, 2025, outlining proposed staffing and budget changes, risk-management costs tied to the city's membership in the Public Entity Risk Management Authority (PERMA), facilities master-plan work, progress on FEMA reimbursements and the status of the housing successor agency's liens and receivables.

The presentation, billed as the final deep dive in a series of departmental reviews that began Feb. 19, will inform the city's preliminary budget adoption scheduled for May 14, staff said. "This is the last in our series of deeper dives into the staffing and budget levels for each of our departments," a Finance staff member told the council. The review covered personnel counts, insurance forecasts, ongoing and one-time facilities projects, audit timing and the city's housing-related receivables.

City staff said the Financial Services Department would show a net reduction of roughly 1.5 full-time equivalent positions in the proposed budget: the department will move from 18.5 to 17.0 positions based on a 2024–25 trade of an assistant supervisor for two facilities maintenance worker I positions and other adjustments. Staff described the reduction as part of succession planning and a retirement-related cash-out affecting year-to-year budget figures.

Risk management and insurance comprised a major portion of the discussion. Staff described the city's membership in PERMA, a 32-member joint powers authority (JPA) for public-entity insurance and risk services, and said…