Cathedral City Becomes the First City in the Coachella Valley to Partake in an “All-In City” Workshop to Improve Transparency and Inclusiveness
Community members, business owners, elected officials and city staff converged at Date Palm Country Club on Thursday to participate in the “All-In City” workshop hosted by PolicyLink of Oakland, California. The philosophy behind an “All-In City” offers its residents equal access to resources and opportunities in order to fully participate and contribute to the economic, political, and cultural life of the city. Discussion among the group included how Cathedral City can better offer equitable access, eliminate any racial barriers, and encourage all of its residents to participate in policy decisions, activities, and goals.
“The workshop allowed us to take a thorough look at how the City interacts with our residents with regards to policy and its implementation,” stated Mayor Stan Henry. “The ultimate goal is to make sure we form a foundation of inclusiveness for all residents.”
An “All-In City” works to enhance transparency and improve the outcome of its residents by eliminating barriers dealing with race, ethnicity, gender, nativity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, zip code or family income.
The workshop included how Cathedral City can establish policies that grow good jobs and help shore-up the middle class, foster economic security, provide resources for its residents from cradle-to-career, create healthy neighborhoods, advocate for improved transit and infrastructure, increase access to affordable housing, offer just policing, and encourage democracy among its residents.
After much discussion and input from the all participating groups, three main policy goals surfaced to the top, such as bringing back a parks and recreation department, establish neighborhood councils to provide community input and dissemination of information, and fully staff city departments, namely public safety. Other top policy areas included partner more with our neighboring tribal councils, work with the College of the Desert to provide residents with information about job training for advanced career opportunities, target local hiring and bilingual employees, continue dialogue with our regional partners on the issue of homelessness, and promote partnerships between the city and local businesses.
“The facilitators presented data that shined a giant light on what is working for Cathedral City and where we have room for improvement,” said Councilmember John Aguilar. “I believe we have made great strides in offering an equal opportunity for all of our residents, but we must work towards setting policies that are more equitable. The success of that happening is by having our residents participate more in the decision making process and being active in local government.”
Over the next several months, the City will work towards implementing the goals from the workshop and determine resources available to make them materialize.
