Even with all this growth, Cathedral City is still a modest community where everyday people live, work and play. In short, it's the best of both worlds - convenience and community with all types of wonderful people living here.

With the increase in population, many new businesses have also come to Cathedral City - popular restaurants like Trilussa, Big Mama's, and soon Picanha; new businesses like the Burlington Coat Factory; popular destinations like Buddy Greco's Supper Club; family entertainment like BOOMERS and Big League Dream Sports Park; and one of the largest Auto Centers in Southern California. Not to mention the many small businesses that are its backbone.

The City issues more business licenses each year than any other city in the Coachella Valley. There are also tried and true businesses like the House of Lamb and Red Tomato Restaurant, El Gallito Restaurant, and many unique home improvement shops on Perez Road that have been Valley favorites for years.

With the recent annexation of nearly 4,000 acres of land north of I-10, planning is underway for Cathedral City's "North City" - the City's last big blank slate for commercial development. There have been ongoing public presentations and discussion as a Specific Plan for the area is being developed, to be sure that the area can be put to the most effective use.

And the growth will continue, with Cathedral City having some of the highest projected growth in population in the Coachella Valley.

Growth Presents Challenges, Too.

Growth also means new homes requiring additional city services which are always a challenge for a post-Proposition 13 city like Cathedral City. Post-Proposition 13 cities do not share in property tax like California cities incorporated before 1979. Less than $15 a year of the property tax on a typical Cathedral City home ends up in the City's General Fund.

That means more "rooftops" in Cathedral City bring more demands for City public safety, fire, emergency medical, street repair and other public works services, but don't create enough income from property tax to pay for these additional services.

More Demand For Fire/Emergency Medicine Service

Just in the past ten years, Cathedral City's population has grown 36%. Calls to 911 for Fire Department services, the great majority of which are calls for emergency medical services, has increased 68%. Fire Department staffing has only increased 29% to handle this increase in demand.

In 1997 the Fire Department had .68 firefighters per thousand to serve Cathedral City residents. In 2006, the number of firefighters per thousand decreased to .65 per thousand. The City's General Plan calls for 1.5 firefighters per thousand. The ratio recommended by the International City Manager's Association is 2 firefighters per thousand. Even to improve Fire Department staffing to 1 firefighter per thousand, a minimal would cost the City an additional $2,850,000 a year.

What Does This Mean To Cathedral City Residents?

Cathedral City's firefighters do a great job. They are well trained and committed to the highest standard of public service - there just aren't enough of them!

More demand for emergency medical service without additional staffing to respond to those calls simply means needing to wait longer for a medical aid unit to arrive at your door. For example, if you had a heart attack, every moment you are not treated has an impact on your chances of survival. When you are in an emergency condition - you want and need medical assistance as soon as possible.

What About Police Services?

Just like the Fire Department, the Police department is staffed with dedicated public safety professionals - but again, there just aren't enough of them.

Response time is also climbing for police services. In 2000 the average 911 response time for Cathedral City police services was 4.2 minutes. With a 33% increase in calls for service between 2000 and 2006, response time has slowed to 6.7 minutes.

On any given shift, there simply aren't enough police officers to always be able to respond to all the requests for services. In fact, there is a 75% chance that when a 911 call is made that all available police officers have been assigned to another call. Dispatch is always prioritizing which calls are most important to protect life and property. Coming home and finding that a thief has broken in, stolen your personal property and fled may be a high priority to you, but someone being assaulted with a weapon will be a higher priority to available police officers.

It would take 11 new officers ($2 million including equipment) to bring police response times back to 2000 levels.

Growth Is Good And Challenging At The Same Time

There are many good things about Cathedral City’s growth. People choose to live in Cathedral City because of convenience, affordability, and because the city has the lowest crime rate in the Valley. But that’s not all. Cathedral City, despite all its growth, still has that homey feel to it. However, growth without the necessary additional funds to provide basic public safety services is an issue of which the community needs to be aware. Doing more with less can only go so far, eventually something will eventually slip through the cracks in an emergency. 

What About Streets And Other Public Works Projects?

Public Works has developed a 5-year street re-surfacing and re-striping program which they are currently carrying out. You may have also seen Cathedral City Public Works staff at some major intersection where flooding occurs during rain storms snarling up traffic. They are putting in inverted siphons that will redirect rain water off of the intersections making them safer.

However, just like Police and Fire, Public Works is basically staffed 1998 levels for a 2008 population. There is more traffic wearing down already tired streets, more nuisance water, more graffiti and vandalism. Public Works is staffed to deal with immediate essentials – not to be proactive.

Why Is This A Problem For Cathedral City And Not Other Valley Cities?

All the challenges mentioned above are primarily due to the fact that Cathedral City does not have a stable source of income. Since, as a post-Proposition 13 City, Cathedral City does not get adequate income from property tax (for example Palm Springs with a population of about 47,000 receives $17.7 million in property tax, while Cathedral City, with a population of around 54,000 receives only $1.5 million). Cathedral City is dependent on sales tax for its income.

Sales tax is highly volatile – up in good times and down in bad. The demands for public safety and essential city services are constant.

Most other Valley Cities have had additional voter approved taxes such as utility taxes, parcel taxes, community facility district taxes and other taxes to add to and stabilize their sales tax. Cathedral City, when it incorporated, had a Community Service District tax that was repealed by voters. If that tax had not been repealed, it would be bringing in some $6 million a year to the City’s general Fund today.

Cathedral City has both the lowest tax revenue income per person ($251 compared to Palm Springs’s $1,138) and the lowest General Fund per person ($633 compared to Palm Springs’ $1,365). If there is any good news in these numbers, it is that Cathedral City is doing more with less!

What Can be Done About It?

Although bringing new business to Cathedral City plus focusing on economic development and business retention might improve the city’s bottom line, it is still not enough to keep Cathedral City solvent. If over the next few years Cathedral City were to double its sales tax to be roughly on par with Palm Desert, Cathedral City would still not have enough money to operate – the budget would still be $20 million less than the smaller desert city.

It’s About Cathedral City’s Future.

Cathedral City is currently spending down its reserves to meet basic demands for service. If the community chooses to do nothing the city would run out of money in 3 to 5 years and current levels of service would deteriorate further. Cathedral City would be in a financial crisis. Some services might go back to Riverside County which is also having financial difficulties.

Some say cut staffing: About 65% of the City’s budget goes to Police, Fire, Emergency Medicine and Public Works. The City has already completely eliminated its’ Parks & Recreation Department and not filled many other positions. Further staff cuts would worsen the already concerning emergency response times. Street sweeping, street repair and median maintenance services would further deteriorate. This could affect property values, insurance rates and drive away existing and potential businesses that provide the City’s desperately needed sales tax.

Others suggest Cathedral City Council put a tax measure on the ballot, but cities cannot impose a tax. Only resident voters can do that. Taxes could take the form of a utility tax, a parcel tax or a sales tax.

Only Residents Can Decide.

Ultimately the decision rests with the residents of Cathedral City. What kind of community do they want? What level of service do they expect? What kind of city would they like to do business in?

Send us your responses using the following link and hopefully we can come up with a positive fiscal solution to this rapidly growing city.