Council approves five‑year employee MOU, agrees to explore CSU education partnership and charter feasibility

At its March 26 meeting the Palm Desert City Council unanimously approved a five‑year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Palm Desert Employees Organization and an agreement for unrepresented employees, and directed staff to explore the feasibility of an education partnership with the California State University system and local districts.

HR Director Andrea Staley summarized key MOU provisions: cost‑of‑living adjustments (COLAs) for years one through five, a year‑one stipend, a deferred‑compensation match up to $200 per month, bilingual pay, boot allowance, and an updated approach for reviewing informal procurement (AB 339) to streamline certain processes. The council approved the MOU and authorized the city manager to implement the agreements (vote 4–0; the record shows a prior recusal on consent item 13J).

On item 13L — a council goal to explore an education partnership at CSU property — councilmembers said the direction was exploratory only. Staff clarified the effort would be preliminary and use staff time rather than budgeted funds and that discussions with CSU have taken place but school‑district outreach remains outstanding. Several members cautioned that pursuing a charter model could provoke jurisdictional friction with Palm Springs Unified School District and said they favored 2×2 exploratory meetings and fact‑finding before committing staff resources.

Next steps: staff will conduct preliminary feasibility work and coordinate with CSU and school districts, then return to council with a recommended path before any funding or formal agreements are proposed.