Cathedral City staff outline priorities ahead of biennial budget as council weighs requests

Cathedral City's city manager opened a biennial budget workshop to preview departmental requests and priorities for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27, saying the sessions are intended to help council and the public understand what departments are asking for before staff balances the budget. "This is the first in our series of workshops designed to give you a better understanding and feel for what is in or is going to be in the proposed budget for the next two fiscal years," the city manager said.

Staff from the city manager's office reviewed internal organization and functions, noting a promoted analyst 2 position that is split 50% with economic development, plus programmatic requests managed under the city manager's office such as community-assistance grants and sponsorships. The presentation listed line-item contributions for local nonprofits and regional programs, and flagged several requests that are currently department asks rather than final budget allocations.

Council members asked clarifying questions during the presentation, particularly about proposed studies and one-time capital items; staff repeatedly distinguished between items that are in departmental requests and those that will be determined during budget balancing. The manager said the Housing First contribution request came from the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, which "asked the cities to increase their contribution to the Housing First program" and that the draft reflects an increase from $100,000 to $125,000 per city.

The workshop closed with staff saying the detailed departmental requests will be incorporated into a balanced budget proposal at a later date and that no votes were taken during the session. Council members and staff indicated follow-up presentations (fire and police departments) are scheduled in coming weeks.