Issues Page

By Shelley Kaplan

Recap of priority Issues for the City

Economic Development + We need to expand our economic development to generate new revenue streams and job opportunities for our City. Our annual general funds budget continues to be tight. To be able to grow our programs we need to encourage development of all the empty lots and vacant storefronts. The elimination of the Redevelopment Authority has severely hurt the city, but we are now working closely with the State, required to approve all property sales, before those empty lots can be sold to developers. This process needs to proceed swiftly. We need to recreate the city's economic development position to focus on this critical need. In addition we must:
1. Work closely with the commercial real estate brokers to bring new development opportunities to the city
2. Solicit major developers to the city
3. Work with the property owners and the Chamber of Commerce to help market vacant storefronts
4. Create an easy to follow process of licensing and permitting, providing clear and concise steps, that encourages new businesses and development in the city
5. Improve the image of city streets and key views at entrance points to the city to make the city more attractive to new business development
6. Highlight the strengths of the city + our neighborhoods, the family oriented nature of our population, our diversity, our ideal location in the valley and our spectacular views I have managed over $500 million in construction and renovation projects throughout my career and feel that this along with my planning background are well suited to help move this process ahead.

Strong Fiscal Management + Our city is only strong when we are fiscally stable and financially secure. No one wants to see their taxes increase but since we were incorporated under Proposition 13, the city only gets 16 cents on the dollar of the property taxes collected. The rest goes to the state and county. This makes us much more reliant on sales and "hospitality" taxes. We need to grow our tax base through the new developments discussed above to provide for financial stability. We also need to review the budget program by program, finding creative ways to leverage our limited resources to have more impact. We need to evaluate innovative approaches to managing the city, utilizing technology to increase efficiency. Together we need to revisit plans for sustainable long-term growth of the city, since most of them need to be updated to reflect the realities of today's world. Part of strong fiscal management is to provide full transparency for how the city spends the taxes and fees it receives. We need to create dialogue with residents and businesses and solicit input from affected parties. We need to improve communications among the Council, the residents and businesses to share the priorities established by the Council and to better coordinate the activities of the city. The recent re-creation of the Communications/Events manager position is already helping to address this need. A monthly newsletter from the city manager would also benefit this program along with establishing meaningful ways we can get more citizens involved in the governing process. During my career I have managed budgets of over $300 million dollars. I intend to utilize my knowledge of budgets and budgeting to help make financial stability a reality for Cathedral City.

Rebuilding Public Infrastructure + Our City needs to look like a welcoming place to attract new residents and businesses. Our residents want an attractive city both to live in and to maintain their property values. This means that we need to spend resources keeping the city beautiful. The new work on Ramon with paving, islands and landscaping is an example of this process. The elimination of the Redevelopment Authority certainly hurt these efforts but we are still moving forward and need to continue these efforts. We need to improve our ability to maintain and expand our roads, public parks, and recreational facilities. We need to expand sewer coverage for the city, as well as add more visual arts such as sculptures, murals, improved signage and banners to create a positive impression of our city. We also need to be sustainable in our use of limited resources, especially with respect to water. The new state law on aquifer management will need to be implemented. This will have an impact on the city so we need to provide incentive and dis-incentives to encourage better use of resources and assure that new developments are sustainable for the future. During my career, not only did I handle many infrastructure projects, I was also responsible for improving the aesthetic appeal of my campuses as well as managing the campuses' sustainability efforts. We were quite successful in all these areas and I hope to be able to utilize my experience to support the city in these areas.

Children and Families + We are a city of neighborhoods, families, retirees and youth, with great diversity and a broad variety of businesses. It would be great to make Cathedral City even more of a tourism destination. Part of this is a result of the economic development discussed above by bringing new hospitality industry to the city with event spaces. Part of this is improving our city public spaces, attracting new and larger family oriented events to the city that address the desires of our residents. I would focus on a citywide effort to more effectively communicate what we are doing and what we have to offer. Our city has many great events now: the Latino film festival, music festivals (AM/FM), artist home tours and historical events, the Rib Fest, the Farmer's Market, local business events, education and school sponsored events, theater productions and many more. When residents are engaged in citywide events, promoters are encouraged to increase those events throughout our city. Working with our new Events Coordinator and the Chamber of Commerce, I have a whole list of steps we can take to continue to make our city an attractive place to live and visit. In my career on college campuses we had events happening just about every day and the Events Management group was one of my departments so I understand what is needed to support this effort.