Palm Desert City Council - Regular Meeting, January 22, 2026

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AI transcript text.

[00:05:30] Mayor Trouy: Okay, it's official now. Thank you, everybody. Good afternoon. I am calling to order the regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council, the Successor Agency, the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency, the Palm Desert Housing Authority, and the Palm Desert Board of Library Trustees for Thursday, January 22nd, 2026. And may I please have a roll call?
[00:05:55] City Clerk: Council Member Harik?
[00:05:56] Council Member Harik: Here.
[00:05:58] City Clerk: Council Member Nestandi?
[00:05:59] Council Member Nestandi: Here.
[00:05:59] City Clerk: Council Member Kintania?
[00:06:01] Council Member Kintania: Present in Sacramento due to authorized city business.
[00:06:07] City Clerk: And is there anyone over the age of 18 present in your meeting room?
[00:06:10] Council Member Kintania: No, there is not. Thank you.
[00:06:12] City Clerk: Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem Pardetto?
[00:06:14] Mayor Pro Tem Pardetto: Here.
[00:06:14] City Clerk: And Mayor Trouy?
[00:06:16] Mayor Trouy: Here.
[00:06:16] City Clerk: All Council is present.
[00:06:17] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. I will now lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise and we'll get...
[00:06:46] Mayor Trouy: Okay. And I will now ask Council Member Kintania for words of inspiration, please.
[00:06:52] Council Member Kintania: Thank you very much, Mayor Trouy. We recently celebrated and recognized the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We honor what he did, and that means that we also realize what is possible when we gather to fight for everyone's rights. He said with great conviction, as you may remember, that justice delayed is justice denied. And one of the most poignant elements of the 'I Have a Dream' speech is that one day his children would have the opportunity to be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin. And today, inequality and injustice that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for has returned after a 70-year incubation period. The bus boycott started December 5th of 1955. And today, we must assess our own actions as it relates to equity, racial profiling, and people being denied due process. We must look within and find where we have carved out our space for shared humanity, reach out to our loved ones, and have conversations, as uncomfortable as that may be. That said, silence is complicity. How will you be remembered? Thank you very much.
[00:08:16] Mayor Trouy: Okay, next we have item five: awards, presentations, and appointments. 5A, Government Finance Officers Association Distinction Award for fiscal year '25-'26. And we are in receipt of this award. So I'd like to call up staff to do a presentation for us, please. Are we going to... Oh, of course. Don't need to go to the podium. We got Veronica right there. There we go.
[00:08:46] Veronica: Honorable Mayor, members of the City Council, I just wanted to let you all know that we did once again receive the award for budget distinction. One of the main things that I wanted to note to you is that we also received special recognition for our policy presentation. And so they appreciated the transparency and the ease with which we made it for them to go through them. This distinguishment is great because we're one of 20 cities or 20 entities that receive this distinguishment, on top of being one out of thousands that submit for the budget award. And so we're just very proud of this honor and wanted to share that with you. And all thanks goes to staff for putting that all together.
[00:09:34] Mayor Trouy: Thank you, Veronica. Any questions or comments from my colleagues?
[00:09:39] Council Member: I second the yay. So, it's so nice to be able to go out in public because a lot of times we're the ones that are public-facing and go out and brag about this. We get to brag. You deserve the credit. Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Veronica.
[00:09:51] Mayor Trouy: Excellent. Okay, next up we have item number six, City Manager comments.
[00:09:56] City Manager: I'll invite up Lieutenant Forest for a quick update.
[00:10:10] Speaker: Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. I wanted to share some comments I made at the COVID commission yesterday and give you a highlight of a new law that just passed. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and California Highway Patrol have launched a joint pilot program that's called Fast Forwarded Actions for Speeding Tickets (FAST). This program is designed to address one of the most dangerous driver behaviors we see on our roadways: drivers traveling at speeds greater than 100 miles an hour. Under FAST, when a driver is cited for going over 100 miles an hour, that citation is automatically forwarded to the DMV Driver Safety Branch. The DMV then independently reviews the incident and driver history and then can take immediate administrative action, including license suspension or revocation. This process does not rely on a court conviction and can move far faster than the traditional judicial system. According to the DMV, this is a significant shift. Previously, drivers without prior points could continue to drive for months while their case worked through the courts. FAST allows us to intervene before reckless behavior turns deadly. And to give us a local example, I pulled some statistics. Since January 2023, we've had 14 citations for drivers here in Palm Beach that have gone over 100 miles an hour. So, hopefully, this new program can assist us in keeping those kinds of reckless behaviors off the road. The next thing I wanted to talk about was January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and my goal this evening is to increase the understanding and awareness around an issue that can be difficult to see but is very real. Human trafficking is a crime against a person. It involves forced exploitation of individuals for labor or commercial sexual activity. It can affect people of all ages, backgrounds, and neighborhoods. At its core, human trafficking is defined by three key elements. First is the act. This includes recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for labor, services, or commercial sexual activity. Second is the means—how control is maintained. This can involve force, fraud, or coercion, including threats, manipulation, fear, or abuse of power. Third is the purpose, which is exploitation. This may include involuntary servitude or debt bondage. Human trafficking exists because it's highly profitable and driven by demand. Traffickers exploit vulnerable individuals and, unlike other crimes, can repeatedly exploit the same person over and over. Victims are often individuals experiencing instability or isolation. This includes runaway youth and children in foster care, individuals who have experienced physical or sexual abuse, those from homes affected by substance abuse, and people struggling with low self-esteem or lack of support. Recruitment today frequently happens online. Traffickers use social media, gaming platforms, and messaging apps. To build trust, they may pretend to be a friend, a romantic partner, or someone offering help, meeting an emotional or practical need before exploiting it. If you believe someone is experiencing exploitation or needs help, confidential resources are available. You can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733, 24 hours a day. And as you see a correlation to end human trafficking in Riverside County, you can scan the QR code and get all this information there. And at the very least, if you think someone's in immediate danger, always call 911. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
[00:13:51] Mayor Trouy: I'll ask Randy Chavez to do an update on public works highlights.
[00:13:55] Randy Chavez: Yeah, I'd like to invite Mr. Chris Garry to give the presentation. Thank you.
[00:14:20] Chris Garry: Good afternoon, Mayor Trouy and council members. Chris Garry with your Public Works Department. The first item today is an update on the completion of Cook Street and Marketplace Drive traffic signal installation. Originating as a condition of approval for the Desert Surf project, this improvement includes installation of a new traffic signal at the previously unsignalized intersection, improving both traffic operation as well as pedestrian safety. In addition to the traffic signal, the project includes ADA-compliant curb ramps and sidewalks, along with infrastructure improvements to enhance accessibility as well as to improve overall safety. For example, the intersection includes ladder-style crosswalks and yellow signal backplates to improve visibility and reduce collision risk. This slide shows the completed project, and note that the same type of backplates will be installed at all signalized intersections in Palm Desert later this year with funding support from a federal safety grant. The next update is regarding our Vision Zero implementation grant. The Council saw this item last June when adopting the Vision Zero strategy, which is a plan to eliminate traffic-related fatalities as well as serious injuries. Following approval, the city applied for a federal implementation grant to construct various improvements, mostly around schools. We're happy to announce the city did receive $5.68 million for these improvements. The grant funds improvements across 24 priority locations, including new sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian-scale lighting, high-visibility crosswalks, and speed feedback signs. And most of these improvements are located within the city's high-injury network, which represents 8% of our roadway system but 83% of our serious collisions. The grant also includes some funding for future demonstration activities similar to our very important pedestrian campaign under our prior planning grant. And this slide shows one segment as an example along Cook Street leading to Palm Desert High School. The improvements will include widening sidewalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and high-visibility crosswalks, including at the intersection of Fred Waring and Cook. Staff is currently awaiting receipt of the grant agreement from the Federal Highway Administration, and once received, we'll provide additional information back to this Council. And that concludes Public Works updates. Thank you.
[00:16:58] Council Member: Got one quick question if I may. The timeline you showed was June 12th Council approved the Vision Zero program, and by June 26th you submitted for the grant. So in two weeks you put together that whole—there must have been some legwork done before?
[00:17:14] Chris Garry: There was. It was a mutual, concurrent path that we were going on this.
[00:17:19] Council Member: That's what I thought.
[00:17:20] Chris Garry: Wrapping one plan up while applying for a grant application.
[00:17:22] Council Member: I didn't think all that work got done in two weeks. All right. Awesome. Thanks, Chris.
[00:17:25] Chris Garry: Thank you.
[00:17:26] Mayor Trouy: Anybody else? Good.
[00:17:27] Council Member: Yeah, just congratulations. I know it was a huge effort, and the grant, the study, it was just enormous, and it paid off with 5.6 million. So, thank you for all that hard work.
[00:17:41] Chris Garry: Thank you. Make the community safer.
[00:17:45] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. All right. Very good. Nothing? Anything else?
[00:17:48] Speaker: Nothing additional.
[00:17:49] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. Okay. Moving on to item number seven. I'm going to—
[00:17:52] Council Member Kinttonia: If I may add one thing to that...
[00:17:56] Mayor Trouy: Of course.
[00:17:56] Council Member Kinttonia: Thank you. I wanted to say that we have a lot of parents that reach out with their frustrations about the area surrounding the schools. So, I greatly appreciate that this essentially lists all of the schools in the city, where in the past some schools felt that they were less of a priority or overlooked or ignored by the city, which we know is not the case, but now we have additional funding to show them how we are prioritizing public safety, especially for our students.
[00:18:29] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. And as long as we're on to item number seven, so let's stay with Council Member Kinttonia. I'm going to—any reports or requests for action?
[00:18:39] Council Member Kinttonia: I do not have requests for action, but a couple of things on the report. One of them was the FAST pilot program, so I'm glad that was already covered. Children's Museum: I learned that the majority of the kids that come from the nine cities do come from Palm Desert. And when we get residents that say, 'It's not in Palm Desert, it's in Rancho Mirage. Why do we support?' Well, there's the answer. And that means that people are finding activities, especially those that come and stay here. We want them to keep that TOT money if they know that their kids will have something to do. The Children's Museum is also having their annual fundraiser coming in and celebrating Discovery. That's Tuesday, February 3rd, 5:00 to 7:00 at Cellas Novas. It is a fun event: live music, light bites, silent auctions, and a great cause with as much as they've been doing to reimagine. Cultural Arts Committee was a great meeting, and I want to thank staff and Public Works in particular for how proactive they are in ensuring that the little details like the traffic cabinets keep looking their best. And they're looking at every minutia of what is cracking, what is peeling, and ensuring that we can have any preventive issues instead of complete overhauls that may be unnecessary.
[00:20:01] Council Member: And so again, great detail and thanks to Erica for putting that all together, and thanks to staff for all their work to get there. And last but not least, the Plein Air Festival. I was there for the awards ceremony, and I'm glad I had no hand in picking any of the prizes because they were incredible. The variety of perspectives in which people looked at our art, from geometric and abstract and some that looked like pictures, and I think that it may be worthwhile for the city to use in partnership with the Plein Air Festival to see if we'd be interested in some of those paintings to be used in a marketing campaign or postcards or something for our visitor center that helps get our return on investment, that highlights our beauty and brings that attention back to us of why we were involved in Plein Air. And that's it.
[00:20:59] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. I will move on to Council Member Nandi.
[00:21:03] Council Member Nandi: No comments. Thank you, Mayor.
[00:21:04] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Council Member Hornick.
[00:21:09] Council Member Hornick: I know all of us have gone to a lot of meetings, but I'm just going to share what I think might be relevant to all of you. And on the heels of the comments on Plein Air, those artists are out in public. That's part of the festival. They're out in public where we can go watch them paint. And I got to see them one morning when I was out walking, and it was outstanding. So this Tuesday, January 27th, they'll be at the Living Desert if you'd like to go watch them paint. And on Friday, January 30th, they will be at the Gardens on El Paseo if you'd like to watch them make their magic. It's pretty amazing. The other thing, if you want to go see just a whole group of people having fun, Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings at 9:00, the Senior Softball League plays out on our fields here at Civic Center. And these are men and women who are great athletes, and it's wonderful to see them work together, the team camaraderie and what they do, and it is truly inspiring. So they're playing for the whole season, and you might really enjoy going out to see them. And that's all I have.
[00:22:25] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. And Mayor Pro Tem Perdetto.
[00:22:29] Mayor Pro Tem Perdetto: Yesterday, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments Homelessness Committee met and toured a new facility in Indio called the Coachella Valley Behavioral Health. It is an 80-bed facility. They have 60 beds open now for adults. They're opening 20 soon for juveniles. And they're admitting walk-ins from the street and also folks who are finding themselves in emergency rooms and being admitted for treatment. The facility has been open for one year and is available to anyone or any family suffering or looking to get family members into treatment and stabilized. And they're getting at least one client a day from the various hospitals in the region, and they're getting walk-ins, a significant number of walk-ins where it's an impressive number for them that they're doing some real good service for our community. So, wanted to share that that resource is available near JFK Hospital, and also to note that the guy who is running it is newly moved to Palm Desert and a Palm Desert resident. So, that resource is available for anyone who needs it.
[00:23:42] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. I have no comments this evening. So, we'll move on to item number eight, non—
[00:23:48] Council Member: May I add one last thing on that, Mr. Mayor?
[00:23:51] Mayor Trouy: Absolutely.
[00:23:52] Council Member: I've also been to tour that facility. I think it's amazing. And one thing that may have been left out after all of the amazing things is that they have a dedicated senior program where a lot of times people may not realize it's a completely different need, or people may be hesitant because of the way that seniors need to be treated differently for different sorts of concerns, such as Alzheimer's and dementia, that they struggle within the regular population of adults. And another big benefit to residents across the valley. But just really excited, and if there's ever an opportunity for any of us to go, I strongly encourage. Thank you so much for having attended that, Mayor Pro Tem.
[00:24:39] Mayor Trouy: Absolutely. All right. Terrific. Thank you. Next up, we have item number eight, non-agenda public comments. This time has been set aside for the public to address the City Council on issues that are not on the agenda for up to three minutes. Because the Brown Act does not allow the City Council to act on items not listed on the agenda, council members may briefly respond or refer the matter to staff for a report and recommendation at a future meeting. And I guess we have our City Clerk to provide a few—
[00:25:10] City Clerk: For those on Zoom, if you want to participate in public comment, please click the raise hand button on your computer or smartphone. And if you're joining in by calling on your phone, please dial star 9 to raise your hand. And when called upon, press star 6 to unmute yourself.
[00:25:23] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. I have two blue speaker cards here. We'll start with Mr. Patrick Lang, please.
[00:25:36] Patrick Lang: Hello, everyone. My name is Patrick Lang, and this is my book, 'Beyond Behind the Wheel', which I wrote because prior to recently retiring, I spent 35 years behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer. And this book is a compiled account of everything I put into practice to help me stay safe and sane throughout my driving career. Six million—this, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is an estimation of how many accidents occur in the US each and every year. Of those, approximately 33,000 are fatal. That's nearly 90 deaths per day. In 2023, the California Office of Traffic Safety reported the number of victims killed and injured within Riverside County to be 15,177, of which 317 were here in Palm Desert. As new laws and regulations continue to be introduced, while manufacturers continue to equip their latest vehicles with state-of-the-art safety technology, the suffering on our roadways continues in full display. The solution being—while the answer to this question may be debatable, given all I've witnessed firsthand over and over again, it's no mystery. This is on us, the driver. In fact, as determined by the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, nearly 94% of all accidents involve driver error. So, it stands to reason, if we truly want these statistics to improve, we as drivers simply must up our game. 'Beyond Behind the Wheel' is no substitute for the DMV driver handbook, but rather a sorely needed supplement, one that goes beyond basic driver education and provides today's motorists with the necessary skills to intuitively and, above all, safely steer clear of many of the unprecedented challenges we face within today's driving environment. It is currently available on Amazon. I've also placed copies onto the front desks of some of our local businesses and agencies, but with very little success. So, given the opportunity to be here with you today, I'm hoping you might get a chance to review it, and if you find it has merit, possibly get back to me with any thoughts and ideas you might have as to how we can spread the word. Thank you very much.
[00:27:54] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you, Mr. Lang.
[00:27:56] Patrick Lang: Thank you.
[00:27:57] Mayor Trouy: And next we have Michelle Rodarte.
[00:28:05] Michelle Rodarte: Good afternoon, Mayor Trouy and City Council members. I just came by to share that FE Community Development, which I'm here on behalf of, just had a Christmas giveaway in 2025 where we were able to service up to 700 people with food and about 300 children with toys. This is our 17th annual Christmas giveaway. And I'm really here just to thank Mayor Trouy. He's been a great support. I know that he's already agreed to come to our appreciation dinner that we're going to have at the end of this month to appreciate over 30 community members that made this happen. So, thank you, Mayor. And I did leave your invitation, even though I know you'll be there. I just want to thank you and formally invite you. Thank you.
[00:29:02] Mayor Trouy: Thank you very much. And are my compadres invited as well?
[00:29:05] Michelle Rodarte: Yes.
[00:29:06] Mayor Trouy: All right. You're all invited.
[00:29:07] Mayor Trouy: Let it—all right, let it be known here publicly. Great. And thank you so much for the work you do.
[00:29:13] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Next we have item—oh, I'm sorry. I beg your pardon, Anthony. Are there any online—
[00:29:21] City Clerk: Mr. Mayor, no online comments.
[00:29:22] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. Item number nine, consent calendar. The next item is—all matters rather listed on the consent calendar are considered routine and may be approved by one motion. The public may comment on any item on the consent calendar for up to three minutes. I don't have any blue speaker cards for the consent calendar—
[00:29:41] City Clerk: And no online comments.
[00:29:42] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Thank you. Do any of my colleagues need to pull any items for special consideration?
[00:29:47] Council Member: Mr. Mayor, I need to register a recusal on 9G for a campaign contribution under SB 1439.
[00:29:59] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. Okay. And
[00:30:02] Council Member: I need to recuse myself from item 9D and possibly 9E, Talos Palms Apartments.
[00:30:12] Council Member: I didn't... you're not within 1,000 feet.
[00:30:15] Council Member: Okay. And I think I should probably pull from 9G as well, if I remember, for the same reason as Joe.
[00:30:24] Council Member: So anyway, anybody else? Yes, I need to register a recusal for 9D because of the proximity to my home, and also 9G, also because of the proximity to my home.
[00:30:41] Mayor Tribe: City Attorney, I've got three members that are not able to vote on 9G.
[00:30:52] City Attorney: Typically, when we don't have a majority, we would go through a process to requalify one of the disqualified members, and that's usually a random selection like straws or such.
[00:31:08] Council Member: Well, D and G, but is it possible to delay G for a future meeting? I just need to double check.
[00:31:18] Council Member: It's a developer who's trying to... Johnson. Yeah.
[00:31:24] Council Member: Why don't we just pick a number one through 10, and whoever is the closest...
[00:31:30] Council Member: Well, before we do that, can I ask our City Attorney, what's the process again that you would find someone that could be eliminated?
[00:31:40] City Attorney: So, if there's no legally required... if the Council can't come up with the legally required minimum number of Council members to make a decision, then the next step is to have at least three people be able to vote. And because we're not giving preference to anyone based on substance, the process is some sort of random method like drawing straws or something similar where one of the otherwise disqualified Council members would still participate.
[00:32:15] Council Member: And one question regarding contributions. Isn't that time sensitive? There's some window...
[00:32:21] City Attorney: One year. I believe that's a one-year period, yes.
[00:32:24] Council Member: And didn't they raise the limit to 500, I believe? So if you're over 500... So I think the solution is that we do the random choice for one of you to vote on it.
[00:32:38] Council Member: And are we going to do straws, or is... I hear Anthony with...
[00:32:42] Anthony: I've got something very similar to straws that we can use for a drawing.
[00:32:45] Council Member: All right, perfect.
[00:32:47] Anthony: Ready?
[00:32:48] Mayor Tribe: Absolutely. All right. If the three members will come down...
[00:33:02] Anthony: There's one pen that does not have a cap on it. Whoever gets that pen will be the one that votes.
[00:33:15] Anthony: There you go, Mr...
[00:33:19] Council Member: Thank you.
[00:33:37] Mayor Tribe: Okay.
[00:33:39] Mayor Tribe: Okay. Anybody care to make a motion?
[00:33:41] Council Member: I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar less those items where other Council members have recused themselves.
[00:33:50] Council Member: I second.
[00:33:53] City Clerk: Okay. Council Member Harnik?
[00:33:56] Council Member Harnik: Yes.
[00:33:57] City Clerk: Council Member Nene?
[00:33:58] Council Member Nene: Yes.
[00:33:59] City Clerk: Council Member Quintanilla?
[00:34:00] Council Member Quintanilla: Yes.
[00:34:01] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem?
[00:34:03] Mayor Pro Tem: Yes.
[00:34:03] City Clerk: Mayor Tribe?
[00:34:04] Mayor Tribe: Yes.
[00:34:04] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to 0.
[00:34:07] Mayor Tribe: All right. Terrific. Thank you. Next item up, Action Calendar. We go on to Item 10A, approve Wayfinding Master Plan and direction on the preferred naming convention for the Palm Desert Civic Center. Staff report, Mr. Chris.
[00:34:25] Chris Gary: Good afternoon again, Mayor Tribe and Council members. Chris Gary with your Public Works Department. The item for your consideration today is the final citywide Wayfinding Master Plan. While Council has previously reviewed the design concepts, today's agenda focuses on the remaining elements of the plan. Specifically, which destinations are included, how they are named, and where they are placed.
[00:34:51] Chris Gary: As a reminder, this is the wayfinding system previously reviewed by Council. The only minor revision since then is enlarging the logo and then repositioning it from the bottom left corner to the top right corner in order to allow for more efficient use of the sign space.
[00:35:09] Chris Gary: As the plan reaches its final stages, staff and our consultants have focused on how the wayfinding system should function and be integrated at the street level. And through this process and through community outreach, several consistent themes did appear in the system. Those themes helped establish a framework that guided these recommendations and ensured consistency across the system, which we'll talk through in the next few slides.
[00:35:36] Chris Gary: Great. So, in evaluating El Paseo, it's treated as the city's primary destination rather than a through corridor. And the intent is to bring people to El Paseo and allow them to arrive, park, shop, and just experience the area, rather than encouraging them for movement beyond it. For that reason, the plan intentionally reduces the number of wayfinding signs along El Paseo while relying on arrival cues and internal circulation. And this approach both supports the economic vitality of El Paseo and preserves the street's visual characteristics, as well as making it a pedestrian-oriented environment.
[00:36:15] Chris Gary: The plan also limits the use of signs that point only to a single destination, and where possible, grouping destinations allows the system to communicate more information while minimizing excess signs. And the system's also designed to guide visitors to the correct area, not necessarily the exact area. And once they're close, visibility and environmental cues again can naturally guide to that final approach. And as a result, single destination signs are used more selectively rather than throughout the system.
[00:36:51] Chris Gary: Staff also reviewed the existing language and intended uses, such as inconsistent terminology for the same destinations and compound phrasing that reduced readability. And the recommended plan standardizes those destination names, eliminates the use of slashes and combined phrasing, and applies a consistent naming convention across the system. And wherever possible, destination names are kept concise and presented on a single line to improve legibility, particularly at high travel speeds, and more so on the larger signs of the two sign types.
[00:37:28] Chris Gary: One of the more complex areas of the wayfinding system is the Civic Center campus, which includes a wide range of civic, cultural, recreation, and just community-serving uses. And because there's so many different facilities within the campus, attempting to list and prioritize individual destinations on citywide or corridor-level signs quickly becomes challenging and could reduce overall clarity and legibility. So rather than overloading signs and creating difficult prioritization decisions, the current plan recommends identifying the campus as a single destination name, whether it's Civic Center or a different name. And the approach allows the visitors to clearly be guided to the campus first and then rely more on internal wayfinding to navigate specific buildings once they arrive on campus. And I'll discuss the Civic Center naming convention in more detail on the following slide.
[00:38:23] Chris Gary: So here summarizes the destinations included in the wayfinding system and the logic used here to identify and organize them. Generally, the destinations reflect those in the existing system with minimal additions and deletions, and destinations are organized into primary and secondary categories to establish a clear hierarchy. Primary destinations are supported by multiple signs approaching from any particular direction, and secondary destinations typically only apply once from any particular direction.
[00:38:59] Chris Gary: This slide shows the frequency of each destination across the wayfinding system based upon how often each destination appears within the 51 destination signs included in the plan. You can see that destinations around the downtown area appear more frequently, reflecting higher wayfinding demand and due to multiple location approaches.
[00:39:22] Chris Gary: And here displays the total number of existing and proposed signs. The reduction primarily reflects again the consolidation around the Civic Center campus, a more restrained approach to El Paseo, as well as just the removal of redundant signage elsewhere within the system. And also, after the system is installed, staff will continue to monitor and recommend refinements or targeted additions as needed. And finally, additional signage will be considered as new destinations come online in Palm Desert, for example, such as Davewin.
[00:39:58] Chris Gary: As part of the finalizing the plan,
[00:40:01] Staff: Staff is requesting Council's direction on the preferred naming convention for the Civic Center campus. During prior review, the Active Transportation Program subcommittee asked staff to revisit how the campus should be named given that there are so many uses at this location. In response, staff did evaluate three options for Council's consideration. The first concept is to retain the Civic Center Park naming convention, and this is a familiar approach as we've had in our community for years, but it would be an exception to minimizing compounding phrasings on our signs. The second concept is to identify the campus as Civic Center, treating it as a unified civic destination, relying again on internal wayfinding to guide you to your location once you're on campus. And the third concept is to consider rebranding the campus with a new name that reflects the mix of uses, should Council wish to explore that direction. And that concludes the presentation. Staff and our consultant are available for any questions you may have.
[00:41:00] Mayor Dy: Okay, terrific. Well, I'm going to open up for public comment before I get feedback from my colleagues. I don't see any blue cards. Anything online, Mr. City Clerk?
[00:41:10] City Clerk: No online comments.
[00:41:12] Mayor Dy: Terrific. All right, let's open it up to discussion.
[00:41:16] Council Member Hearnick: I appreciate what you brought up about the Civic Center. And if we think about even the current wayfinding signs, they say "Civic Center" and some say "Civic Center Park." When those were put up, we didn't have an aquatic center, so we didn't point that out to people. And I can't help but wonder, Civic Center to me, when I hear that, I think, okay, there's City Hall, but now we're going to have a library, we've got these great fields, we've got the Desert Rec Center, we've got the aquatic center, butterfly gardens, everything else. So I feel that rebranding might be in order because if you're sending people to Civic Center, you're shortchanging them if they are strangers to our community, if they are visitors. They don't know that there's a library, there's a pool. So I really do think we need to look at that and look at that closely. The other thing, and I have to kind of apologize because I was on the subcommittee and it didn't occur to me before, now when I'm looking at this and we're seeing all this activity and growth and really wonderful creative growth on San Pablo, and like El Paseo, it's a destination. It's a bohemian type of artsy kind of community, and we don't have anything that says San Pablo, and I wonder if that might be called for. Those are my two questions or comments. Yeah, I guess we can have you address the comments first or questions first?
[00:43:02] Staff: Sure. As far as the question of San Pablo, if it's the Council's direction, we absolutely can include San Pablo on our messaging.
[00:43:12] Council Member Hearnick: Just actually, have you thought about how Civic Center may be rebranded? Because I know that came up during the subcommittee discussion, right? And I'm wondering if that maybe is something we task Thomas's group with, or, you know, the creative greater minds, certainly than mine, might have some great ideas on something like that. I just, "Civic Center" doesn't say library, it doesn't say pool, it doesn't say baseball fields and pickleball and everything else that we offer at Civic Center. So I think for our strangers—and who are these signs for other than the people who don't know—they're still not going to know if all they see is Civic Center. So that's my...
[00:44:01] Mayor Dy: Perfect. Any thoughts?
[00:44:03] Council Member: Yes. So, I was going to say I agree with Council Member Hearnick because when I hear the word "Civic Center," I'm thinking City Hall as well. And we put so much resources, financial resources, into the aquatic center. We want visitors to go there, but if they don't know it's there, they're not going to go. And I also agree that we need to limit the verbiage on our signs as well. So perhaps we do have Thomas and the marketing team come up with something succinct that can encapsulate everything in the Civic Center. I know you mentioned, though, once you get them to the Civic Center, then we could have internal signage. However, visitors might not know to even go into the Civic Center to see the internal signage. But then I do agree to limit the number of signs. I think that's a positive thing to limit it, especially on El Paseo. And yes, those are my comments.
[00:45:11] Mayor Dy: Terrific.
[00:45:11] Council Member: Yeah, can I ask a question?
[00:45:13] Mayor Dy: Absolutely.
[00:45:13] Council Member: Have there been any other rebranding or renaming that have been—anything that draws your attention? I mean, Civic Center, yes, it's concise, but I agree at the same time that we've made significant investments in capital projects over the years, and we want to ensure that our visitors are enjoying the amenities that we love to—I guess it could be a humble brag, it could be a full brag about what we have and what we offer in Palm Desert. And you're driving by, if you know what you're looking for... but I think that if people were to just look up "Civic Center," I don't know that Google, for example, would say this is where the library is, as we interact with how people may perceive that name versus what they may be subjected to, you know, the internet search. So, just looking at both sides of how this could go and how to optimize the opportunity.
[00:46:18] Mayor Dy: Terrific. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem Peretto.
[00:46:21] Mayor Pro Tem Peretto: I think the design's great. I think probably what we're going to need to do is see some suggestions on the naming convention, the rebranding of Civic Center. But in terms of the wayfinding plan itself and the design, I think it's great.
[00:46:39] Council Member Hearnick: And I want to follow up on that because this is outstanding. It's bright, you've done a great job on it, and I know this has been a long time in the making. And I thank you for all the work and for the creativity that's gone into it. So, thank you very much.
[00:46:57] Council Member: Just one quick question. What's the estimated useful life of these signs? How long do we expect them to stay up or last?
[00:47:03] Staff: Well, that is a good question. If you'd like, I can elevate our design team, Brandon Reeves, who can probably answer that question.
[00:47:11] Council Member: Like, how long did the last signs last, any idea?
[00:47:13] Staff: Oh, I would say probably 10, 20...
[00:47:17] Council Member: I guess my point is I don't really actually need an answer. I guess the point is they're going to be up probably 10, 20 years.
[00:47:21] Staff: Yes.
[00:47:22] Council Member: So, I concur with Council Member Hearnick. Let's make sure we get it correct, accurate, because this is a long-term commitment. It's not like a crisis we have to do right now. So I concur, and if anybody wants to make a motion, I'm all ears.
[00:47:33] Council Member Hearnick: I'll make a motion. Let's make a motion to revisit the naming of Civic Center, but otherwise we approve all the other aspects of it, and that's all we want to revisit right now. Right?
[00:47:44] Council Member: Well, and I'd like to look to see if there is placement for San Pablo as well.
[00:47:49] Mayor Dy: Got it.
[00:47:52] Council Member: That'll be... Yeah. Is that something that the subcommittee will reconvene on, or staff bring back, or... I guess that's your...
[00:47:58] Staff: I'm happy to reconvene the subcommittee and talk about it further.
[00:48:02] Council Member: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:48:04] Mayor Dy: So, we have a motion. We have a second.
[00:48:05] Council Member: I'll second.
[00:48:05] Mayor Dy: Terrific.
[00:48:09] City Clerk: Council Member Hearnick?
[00:48:10] Council Member Hearnick: Yes.
[00:48:11] City Clerk: Council Member Nandi?
[00:48:12] Council Member Nandi: Yes.
[00:48:12] City Clerk: Council Member Quintanilla?
[00:48:14] Council Member Quintanilla: Yes.
[00:48:14] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Peretto?
[00:48:16] Mayor Pro Tem Peretto: Yes.
[00:48:16] City Clerk: And Mayor Dy?
[00:48:17] Mayor Dy: Yes.
[00:48:18] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to 0.
[00:48:19] Mayor Dy: Thank you so much. Next up, we have Item 10B, which is consideration of resolutions adopting updated operating budget, capital planning and prioritization, long-term financial planning, and reserve policies. We'll have a staff report, I'm assuming, from Veronica Chavez. Thank you.
[00:48:39] Veronica Chavez: Good afternoon again, Honorable Mayor, members of City Council. Give me just one second while we experience technical difficulties. I will say, after seeing Chris's presentation, I realized it was a tough act to follow with that creativity, but we'll do our best. So just to start, if you'll recall, on December 11th, staff presented a study session item to discuss our long-term financial planning with the General Fund and our reserve policy, and gave you some options to consider to align with best practices and Council goals. And just a recap of that meeting: first off, our 10-year projections are showing that operations are relatively balanced based on current estimates and very conservative revenue projections over that time. We do, however, anticipate seeing challenges with maintaining our current reserve requirement, and so staff suggested a few changes so that we can alleviate some of those challenges that we're seeing. Adequate reserves is something staff is consistently assessing to ensure optimal reserve and investment balance is achieved, while still actively managing our risk. Staff proposed a...
[00:50:01] Speaker: ...few changes, as I mentioned earlier, to better align with best practices. Community investment and priorities that potentially could drive revenue and Council's risk tolerance is heavily weighted on those suggestions. Council expressed support for many of the proposed recommendations and asked for some additional research. And so today, staff is bringing forward the proposed changes, the additional information that was requested, and as a result of that rabbit hole, add three additional policies that we believe bring everything into alignment when you consider budget and the reserve policy. And so we'll jump into that right now.
[00:50:43] Speaker: So first, what are the changes and the additional information that stemmed from the December 11th meeting? First off, GFOA best practices suggest at minimum we have 16.7% of total revenue maintained as general fund reserves. Staff recommended reducing our operating reserve and emergency reserve to total 25%—10% for operating and 15% for the emergencies—exceeding GFOA's minimum standard but also sitting well within our 20-year trends. Originally, staff suggested adding a floor to the overall policy that aligned with GFOA's suggested 16.7% minimum. After digging in a little more, we realized that rating agencies also use our reserve as some measurement to determine what our rating can be, and so their minimum requirement is 35%. So, I'd like to amend that request and ask that we set our floor at a total of 35% reserve overall.
[00:51:46] Speaker: Additionally, staff recommended adding an annual contribution to the economic community investment reserve of $5 million that can be used to facilitate opportunities within the city to assist with development, but may only be accessed if it is determined that the project can achieve an ROI equivalent to the city's investment benchmark within 5 years. Any unused funds may be rolled over or advanced for larger projects with Council approval and if ROI is achieved. Finally, staff recommended adding an innovation reserve that would be made available to departments based on productivity savings to inspire innovative and forward-thinking in our staff and support their efforts and continuous improvement. Staff feels funding is necessary for those ideas and creativity not to stagnate. So, department heads will be required to present the ideas and funding requests to the city manager for his approval and must be used by the end of the subsequent fiscal year or returned to fund balance.
[00:52:52] Speaker: Staff also followed up on a couple of items. The first one was Rancho Mirage's reserve was odd at 84%. Ultimately, what we were able to determine after a lot of digging was that their reserve policy is set such that they have static numbers, and so that percentage was just by virtue of the math between those dollar amounts they're required to reserve and their fund balance. Secondly—
[00:53:23] Council Member: Can you explain that once more, please?
[00:53:25] Speaker: So when you look at their policy, instead of having one that fluctuates—so ours are all based on percentage, right? So anytime our revenues increase or decrease, our reserves fluctuate to go with those changes. They set static numbers for each of their areas, and they have fewer areas than we do. But I believe they're—I have it in the packet, I can't remember what it was called, but one of them is set at just $25 million. And it stays that way unless they request a change with their budget. And so the 84% represented all of those static numbers compared to whatever their fund balance is on any given year. And so the year that that came up for was 2025, and that was the percentage of their total fund balance.
[00:54:14] Council Member: Okay.
[00:54:16] Speaker: So it really isn't apples to apples, is all I'm trying to get at. The second request was from Council Member Petto, where he had asked, 'Are we going to roll over capital reserves? How are we going to do that? How can we establish that?' Staff did a deep dive on that. And so what we are suggesting within the policy changes is to create a ceiling and a floor. And so the 70% target that we've been using all along, we're going to remain use that remaining as our target. And then we'll have a ceiling of 110% of the value that we calculate. And anytime there is a balance left over in any given year, it'll roll over up to the ceiling, which would be the 110%.
[00:55:01] Speaker: Staff has the opportunity to use 100% of that 110%. So they could—I'm duplicating percentages, this is terrible—they could, in fact, advance any of the projects in the 10-year CIP if there's recognized savings, or if there was some sort of economy of scales achieved, or if there is an emergency repair that they needed. But as they deplete those monies, they could not go below the floor, which would be 30%. And so Council would then have to make a decision at that point to either not do the improvement that would be under the 30% in that fiscal year or add funds for that fiscal year. And so at any given time, we would be rebuilding those year-over-year based on either a rollover or additional reserving for that fund. And so that was the best way I could think to continuously make sure that we have substantial funds reserved for facilities and that we don't fall behind by actually forcing us to take a look at those numbers every year, and that gap that we had post-dissolution doesn't get created again.
[00:56:09] Speaker: Secondly, when you asked about how we would then reserve for capital projects, our 10-year CIP plan really is our reserve for capital projects. That is our pay-as-you-go kind of process. But in addition to that, I did want to suggest: one, we do reserve 20% for capital projects that could be used for cost overruns or any project that comes up that isn't on the plan. Secondly, we could add to the policy that if we receive any one-time revenues that do not have a restriction, have a portion of them go to future capital projects. So, say we get a $20 million influx of cash from a donor. We could say 20% of that $10 million, because we're never going to receive it again, is set aside for capital projects. That's just one option. I did not include that in this version, but I wanted to give that to you for consideration.
[00:57:05] Speaker: And lastly, on capital projects, we are putting the policy in place so that we're prioritizing them, and that will also contribute to how we're planning out those projects over time. I believe that was it on that portion. And then lastly, there was a question as far as the liability reserve and the fact that it's a static number. It is still $4 million. That is a requirement from CJPIA. But what I did add to the policy, and you can see it on the redline, is that—I lost my place—is that we have the ability to change that number if our memorandum of coverage with CJPIA changes. And so just with that simple wording, we can change it if we need to. I didn't get any response from them that they had any intention of doing that, and our contract currently goes through, I believe, 2027. So, if it does change, I'll bring it back to you for consideration.
[00:58:11] Speaker: Are there any questions on that? I'm trying to keep it as high level as possible because I know we dove in so deep last time. So, this is the summary of changes. You have all of the detail starting on page 337, and it goes to, I think, 349. But when you look at the six different scenarios that we took a look at, the revision that we're asking for in the policy and spreading out the CIP over 10 years creates a 41% reserve funded number. And when we're saying our minimum is 35%, that definitely puts us above that number. So that's a great measurement there. But you can see, as is, our policy at year 10 is at 10% funded. And so by making those few changes, it gets us to 41%.
[00:59:13] Speaker: What I did want to make sure everyone understood was that there are no revenues associated with the investment of economic development dollars included in here because I can't recognize it until it's right there. So that potentially, that number could increase. Additionally on this sheet, what you can see is that on schedule five, removing the park, as Council Member Petto asked us to do, does also increase our reserve amount funded to 48%. But truly, until you get to issuing debt by leaving the park in, do we not meet our full reserve requirement?
[01:00:01] Veronica (Staff): And that's where we get at the 127%.
[01:00:08] Veronica (Staff): Are there any questions on this?
[01:00:13] Mayor: I for sure will have questions at the end. So I can wait until we finish. Is everyone else comfortable with that?
[01:00:18] Council Member: Sure.
[01:00:18] Council Member: Can I ask a question? Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
[01:00:21] Council Member: These projections are independent of the policies that are in front of us though, right? We're not being asked to make a direction on any, like, on our future use of bonds.
[01:00:33] Veronica (Staff): No, not at all. No, I highlighted schedule three. That's the one that captures what we're asking you to look at tonight.
[01:00:41] Mayor: And Council Member Quintanilla, did you have a question?
[01:00:44] Council Member Quintanilla: Thank you. So, I just wanted to clarify that what you mentioned about Mayor Pro Tem's request to look at how the fund or what the impact would be of removing the fund to save money. Now, you're saying if we take that out, we're saving too much money and then we're not in compliance with our own policy. Is that what I'm understanding?
[01:01:05] Veronica (Staff): No, no, no. By removing the park, what you see is that—so let me back up. Extending the CIP to 10 years from five takes us from being 10% funded in year 10 to 41% funded, in addition to all of the reserve changes that we're asking for. By removing the park alone, our percent of reserve funded goes from 41% to 48%. So all things remaining equal to what we're requesting tonight, with the exception of removing the park, our percentage of reserve funded changes seven additional percentage points.
[01:01:53] Mayor: Council Member Quintanilla, does that satisfy your question?
[01:01:58] Council Member Quintanilla: Yes, it does. I'm still looking at the concept, as I had mentioned before, on how to stretch it out. It makes more sense, and you know, when you're looking at that 7%, when we're looking in the grand scheme of things, and as we know, the cost of material supplies and all of that which will grow over time, it just makes sense that 7% is a reasonable middle ground. Terrific. Okay. And I actually, as long as we have the slide up, I might as well ask my question regarding this.
[01:02:32] Council Member Quintanilla: Under schedule three, it shows that the 35% minimum reserve has been met. However, the required reserve has not been met. How do you reconcile those two?
[01:02:41] Veronica (Staff): So the minimum is the one that we're adding where we say that at no time will we dip below 35% of our total revenues with our entire reserve, right? So you're talking about operating reserve, emergency reserve, in addition to liability, CIP, all the different categories must at least total 35% of our revenue. We meet that with all the changes. We don't meet our required reserve amounts. So we're required to set aside $6 million for facilities. I should actually look exactly at where we're not meeting it. We would not be able to meet them in their entirety.
[01:03:26] Council Member Quintanilla: Okay. So, category by category, we're not satisfying them at required reserves. However, in the big picture, we're good with 35. I got you.
[01:03:34] Veronica (Staff): Correct.
[01:03:35] Council Member Quintanilla: Got it.
[01:03:35] Veronica (Staff): Yeah.
[01:03:37] Veronica (Staff): Any other questions? Okay, I'll move on. So, next we have the operating budget policy and the blanket statement. I want to say these are all processes that we currently do. It's just a way to codify them so that we have something to point out. We're very transparent. The public sees exactly how we are budgeting. There's no questions as to how our funds are used, what our thoughts are. Operating costs will be paid from operating revenues. There is no intent to use reserve at any time for operations. It will limit our reliance on one-time revenues for recurring costs. And then why it's necessary—you know, this is our primary financial control tool is our budget. And so I wanted to make sure that we were in alignment between reserve and budget. And so that's why this policy is necessary. The other part of it is just knowledge transfer. I wanted to make sure we had it codified somewhere formally so that people later know why we do what we do. The next one is our capital planning and prioritization. I thought this was really important to put in place because when we talk about using reserves, this is typically what we're talking about as capital projects. And so again, it really does focus on how we do things now, but it just gives us the exact steps and prioritization for how we're going to choose which projects are going to be added or done first, done second, that sort of thing. And in looking at the prioritization of the policy, it's health and safety first. Oh gosh, I don't have it directly in front of me, but it really does take the community aspect first, and then the last things that are prioritized are just those items that are more aesthetically pleasing to us. And so I thought it was important to put that in place. It also talks about using facility maintenance reserves for predictable expenses, and then using CIP for the larger costs and maintaining our contingency, and considering debt only when we're talking about major long-term projects that cannot be cash flowed easily. If it makes sense, that's when we'll look at that. And then lastly, the long-term financial planning. This is the 10-year projections. So, we do this already. We just don't have a policy in place. And I just wanted something that codified the why. And it also is something that on our budget award we're called out for. And so, I wanted something to point to to say we do this. It's there. And that's why we're putting that in place. But in the grand scheme of things, it all works hand-in-hand with the reserve policy. So staff is recommending the updates to the reserve policy and adoption of the three additional policies so that we are in alignment using best practices and prioritizing council goals. That concludes my presentation. I'm open for questions.
[01:07:02] Mayor: Terrific. Well, before we get comments and questions from my colleagues, let's open up for public comment. I don't have any blue cards. Are there any online public comments?
[01:07:12] Staff: No online comments.
[01:07:13] Mayor: All right, close the public comments section and let's get to comments and questions from my colleagues. Who would like to go first?
[01:07:21] Mayor: Gina, sorry. Council Member Standi.
[01:07:24] Council Member Standi: Yeah. No, Veronica, I thank you very much. This is wonderful how you've codified everything and like you said, we might remember today why we're doing what we're doing, but who knows five years from now or however else long, you know? So, I'm glad that you did this and I'm very supportive of what you presented and I do support the schedule three. I like the idea that any one-time revenue that we receive, if allowed, a portion could be set aside for capital projects. And again, I think it's important that we prioritize projects and we have clear criteria on how we're prioritizing these capital projects.
[01:08:19] Mayor: Anybody else? Council Member Quintanilla,
[01:08:22] Council Member Quintanilla: I love that you know I always have questions and comments with the concept of fluctuating the budget and how much to keep in reserves, specifically about lowering the amount. I've always had my concerns about what happens if we are hit with something unpredictable. And granted, I know this is all based on math, and we know math is eternally predictable—little bit of sarcasm there. It gives me great assurance of knowing that any unfunded or unallocated grants or anything that's coming in, that it would go to an ongoing reserve. And I particularly appreciate the opportunity that we are encouraging creativity and rollovers and not a 'use it or lose it.' I think this is a great plan that balances how to keep more in flux while ensuring that we have a flexible base. So I am very pleased with how this was presented and how it really manages what we need. Thank you so very much.
[01:09:28] Mayor: Terrific. Council Member Harik, any thoughts, comments?
[01:09:31] Council Member Harik: Thank you, and thank you for the study session the other day because that really put us in a great position. What this tells me is how diligent we must be with our resources, how much we have to respect our resources, and how careful we have to be because
[01:10:00] Council Member: This reserve policy is important. There's great pains have been put into this, but if we don't respect our resources, we're going to find ourselves in a problem. And that is clear when you look at all of these matrices you give us that we have a chance to look at. It says an awful lot that we need to really pay close attention with how we use our resources. Um, the prioritization of CIP, are we doing something similar as CAG does, the TPPs? Is that sort of the same sort of...
[01:10:48] Staff: So the way it's listed here is kind of big picture how we do it. It's just not written down, and so I just wanted something that was a little bit stronger.
[01:10:59] Council Member: Okay, so we can point to it.
[01:11:02] Staff: Okay, thank you.
[01:11:05] Mayor Trouy: Okay, Mayor Pro Tem.
[01:11:06] Mayor Pro Tem Peretto: I concur with my colleagues. I think the 10-year planning horizon is more consistent with how things naturally unfold anyway. So, I am very supportive.
[01:11:18] Mayor Trouy: Terrific. I just have two questions. Um, you mentioned earlier on in the presentation about, you know, we had considered the 25% floor for reserves, and in visiting that policy, you said, 'Well, the agency rating would knock us down, so we better keep it at 35%,' which is their floor. We're then in line with... Why is the agency rating important?
[01:11:44] Staff: Good question, actually. Um, so even though the city doesn't intend to issue bonds in any capacity in the near future, it's really important that we maintain that rating in case of emergency. If we need to borrow funds for any reason, um, other entities look at it to determine whether or not the city is fiscally responsible, quite honestly. And so being able to maintain a high rating—we actually have been used, just as an aside, by the County of Riverside to issue debt on their behalf because our rating was greater than theirs. And so I just think it's a really good practice for the city to maintain. The 35% is a very solid number. I did a risk assessment just recently, and um, it identified that that truly is a target. Um, so using it as a floor, I feel very confident in doing that. And so I just think that's a better number for us to use versus the GFOA one.
[01:12:43] Mayor Trouy: Banks love to lend to people who don't need it. Got it. Okay. It's like keeping a high credit score even if you don't ever plan to use it. Good to have in the back pocket is the way I'm reading it. Okay, yes.
[01:12:53] Mayor Trouy: And then second, you mentioned a policy that you plan to implement, rather reward productivity savings, basically the innovation reserve.
[01:13:02] Staff: Correct.
[01:13:03] Mayor Trouy: So each department head is then somehow basically, if they come under budget on their annual budget, that money gets rolled over into their budget or goes back into the general fund over the years?
[01:13:13] Staff: It goes normally—it'll go back into the general fund and it'll increase fund balance if it's unused. Um, what this does is it gives them an opportunity if they attempt to reduce their cost over the year. Their budgets are pretty tight year-over-year. We keep a pretty good eye on that. And so if they make an attempt to have some cost savings, it gives them an opportunity to use the savings for a program or project that they see as innovative. They have to present it to the city manager, and the city manager has to approve it.
[01:13:46] Mayor Trouy: Okay, that's perfect. But my question was going to be is what is the incentive? And you just answered: the incentive is they get to go have some creative program that we're all going to love,
[01:13:55] Staff: Right?
[01:13:56] Mayor Trouy: Okay, terrific. Well, that satisfies my questions. Anybody else? I guess.
[01:14:01] Council Member: I'll move approval.
[01:14:02] Council Member: I will second.
[01:14:05] City Clerk: Council Member Harik.
[01:14:06] Council Member Harik: Yes.
[01:14:07] City Clerk: Council Member Nandi.
[01:14:08] Council Member Nandi: Yes.
[01:14:08] City Clerk: Council Member Kintania.
[01:14:10] Council Member Kintania: Yes.
[01:14:10] City Clerk: Mayor Pro Tem Peretto.
[01:14:12] Mayor Pro Tem Peretto: Yes.
[01:14:12] City Clerk: And Mayor Trouy?
[01:14:13] Mayor Trouy: Yes.
[01:14:14] City Clerk: Motion passes 5 to zero.
[01:14:15] Mayor Trouy: Very good. Thank you very much. Great work. Um, on to item number 11, public hearings. I understand we have an announcement from the city clerk regarding item number 11. And, uh, just for the record, this is related to the outside funding or outside agency funding committee recommendations and CDBG or community development block grants annual action plan. Uh, ultimately, uh, staff is requesting that this matter be continued to a date uncertain.
[01:14:41] Council Member: Okay, that sounds good. Nothing we can do about that. We'll just deal with it when it comes up. Thank you very much for that.
[01:14:47] City Clerk: Thank you.
[01:14:48] Mayor Trouy: And any other further thoughts, comments, requests for action? Anything else going on? Well, then I guess at 5:09 p.m. on January 22nd, we will consider this meeting adjourned. Thank you very much.
[01:15:02] Council Member: Be safe, everyone.