Agenda packet — Coachella City Council, April 24, 2024 (part 3 of 3)

Item 28.
11 and Business Improvement District Law of 1994, Streets & Highways Code §36600 et seq., which authorizes joint powers agencies to establish, modify and renew parking and business improvement areas and property and business improvement districts for the purpose of tourism promotion. Approval of this agreementAgreement by the CVBJPA Members constitutes consent: (i) to :
(k)(i) the formation of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourism Marketing District adopted pursuant to Ordinance No. 2013-001, including all proceedings and actions previously taken by the CVB in connection with formation of the said district (“2013 TMD”); (ii) to form an improvement district not to exceed an assessment rate of one percent (1%) on Lodging Establishments not currently being assessed under the 2013 TMD or the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Tourism Business Improvement District established by Ordinance No. 883 of the County of Riverside (“Tourism BID”); and (iii) to consolidate the 2013 TMD and Tourism BID as long as the overall assessment rate does not exceed three percent (3%) on the entities currently being assessed therein;VGPS in connection with formation of the said district (“2013 TMD”); and (ii) the formation of the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Business Improvement District pursuant to Resolution No. 2016-004 and to levy an assessment of three percent (3%) on Convention Hotels;
(iii) t h e renewal of the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Business Improvement District pursuant to Ordinance No. 2020-005 (“2021 TBID”) and to levy an assessment of three percent (3%) on Convention Hotels and one percent (1%) on vacation rentals; (l)(k) The power to adopt rules, regulations, resolutions and ordinances that may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes and intent of the JPA; (m)(l) The power to enforce rules, regulations, resolutions and ordinances for the administration, maintenance and operation of the JPA;
(n)(m) The power to enter into joint powers agreements pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, as set forth in section 6500, et seq. of the Government Code; (o)(n) The power to provide insurance pursuant to section 989 of the Government Code, et seq.;
(p)(o) The power to sue and be sued in the name of the JPA; (q)(p) The power to conduct certain activities of the JPA in any state or territory of the United States of America or in any foreign country, related to growing and diversifying the economy through promoting and marketing all aspects of the hospitality, convention and tourism industry in the Coachella Valley for the purpose of attracting visitors, groups, meetings, conventions and new businesses from national and international markets, as permitted pursuant to Government Code section 37110;
(r)(q) The power to travel domestically and internationally that is necessary or proper Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 1", Right: 0", Numbered + Level: 1 + Numbering Style: i, ii, iii, … +
Start at: 1 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 0.75" +
Indent at: 1.25", Widow/Orphan control, Tab stops:

Not at 1" + 1.17"
Formatted: Normal, Right: 0", Tab stops: Not at 1" +

1.17"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0",
Widow/Orphan control, Tab stops: Not at 1" + 1.17"
Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.18", Tab stops: Not at 1"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0",
Widow/Orphan control, Tab stops: Not at 1" + 1.17"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Condensed by 0.1 pt
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: normaltextrun, Font: 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: normaltextrun, Font: 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)
Formatted: normaltextrun, Font: 11 pt, Pattern: Clear
(White)
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"

Page 346 ends

Item 28.
12 to carrying out the purposes and intent of the JPA;
(s)(r) The power to provide staff and resource support, financial assistance and subsidies to other public agencies, non-profit organizations and the private sector for purposes consistent with the purpose and intent of the JPA;
(t)(s) The power to lobby on behalf of travel and tourism; and economic development; (u)(t) The power to form a non-profit corporation or other affiliated non-profit entities for the purpose of promoting and enhancing all aspects of the hospitality, convention and tourism and economic development industry; and
(v)(u) The power to take any and all actions necessary for, or incidental to, the powers expressed or implied by this Agreement and all applicable laws.

Section 1617. Power to Invest
Pursuant to Government Code section 6509.5, the JPA shall have the power to invest any money in its treasury pursuant to the provisions set forth in Government Code section 6505.5 that is not required for the immediate necessities of the JPA, as the JPA may determine from time to time is advisable, in the same manner and upon the same conditions as local agencies pursuant to Government Code section 53601.

Section 1718. Bonding
Pursuant to Government Code section 6505.1, individuals occupying the following positions shall file an official bond in an amount deemed sufficient by the JPA Executive Committee:
(a) President/Chief Executive Officer;
(b) Director of Finance; and
(c) Treasurer.

Section 1819. Treasurer and Auditor - Designations
Pursuant to Government Code section 6505.6, the JPA Executive Committee shall designate by resolution an officer or employee of the JPA to fill the functions of Treasurer and Auditor of the JPA, and the JPA Executive Committee may appoint one qualified person to serve as both Treasurer and Auditor or two qualified persons to serve as each separately.

Section 1920. Treasurer - Duties and Responsibilities
Pursuant to section 6505.5 Government Code, the Treasurer shall do all of the following:
(a) Receive and receipt (account) for all money of the JPA and place it in the Formatted ...

Formatted ...

Page 347 ends

Item 28.
13 treasury of the Treasurer so designated to the credit of the JPA; (b) Be responsible, upon his or her official bond, for the safekeeping and disbursement of all JPA money so held by the Treasurer; Pay, when due, out of money of the JPA held by the Treasurer, all sums payable on outstanding bonds and coupons of the JPA; (c) Pay when due, out of the money of the JPA held by the Treasurer, all sums payable on outstanding bonds and coupons of the JPA;
(d) Pay any other sums due from the JPA from JPA money, or any portion thereof, only upon warrants of the public officer performing the functions of auditor or controller who has been designated by this Agreement; and
(e) Verify and report in writing on the first day of July, October, January and April of eachno less than five (5) times per year to the President/Chief Executive Officer, the JPA Executive Committee and to all Parties the amount of money the Treasurer holdsfinancial statement of activities for the JPA, the amount of receipts since the Treasurer’s last report, and the amount paid out since the Treasurer’s last reportyear.

Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.18", First line: 0.5", Tab
stops: Not at 1.06"
Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0.44", Tab stops:

1.06", Left
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Font: Not Bold, No underline, Underline
color: Auto, Character scale: 100%

Page 348 ends

Item 28.
14 Section 2021. Independent Audit
Pursuant to section 6505.6 of the Government Code, the Treasurer shall cause an independent audit to be made by a certified public accountant or public accountant, in compliance with section 6505 of the Government Code.

Section 2122. Auditor’s Duties
The Auditor shall perform the following duties:
(a) Review and recommend to the JPA Executive Committee accounting procedures and policies governing the JPA;
(b) Review and approve all demands listed on the Warrant Registers prior to submittal to the JPA Executive Committee;
(c) Review payroll registers at least monthly;
(d) Review all financial reports being submitted to the JPA Executive Committee and make the JPA Executive Committee aware of any discrepancies or potential problems in the reports;
(e) Review investments made by the President or Treasurer; (f) Review the audit report prepared by a Certified Public Accounting firm prior to finalization of the report and submittal to the JPA Executive Committee; and (g) Assist staff in the selection of the Certified Public Accounting firm.

Section 2223. Attorney’s Fees
In the event litigation or other proceeding is required to enforce or interpret any provision of this Agreement, the prevailing party in such litigation or other proceeding shall be entitled to an award of its actual and reasonable attorney's fees, costs and expenses incurred in the proceeding.

Section 24. Voting
Each JPA Member shall have an equal vote. A motion considered by the JPA Executive Committee shall require a majority of votes cast (more than half) to pass such motion. In the event of a tie vote, such motion before the JPA Executive Committee shall be deemed defeated.

Section 25. Severability
If any term, provision, covenant or condition of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions, if any, of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect, unless enforcement of this Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Right: 0"
Formatted: Underline, Underline color: Auto, Character
scale: 100%, Not Expanded by / Condensed by
Formatted: Font: Not Bold

Page 349 ends

Item 28.
15 Agreement as so invalidated would be unreasonable or grossly inequitable under all the circumstances or would frustrate the purposes of this Agreement.

Page 350 ends

Item 28.
16 Section 2326. Waiver
All waivers must be in writing to be effective or binding upon the waiving Party, and no waiver shall be implied from any omission by a Party to take any action.

Section 2427. Amendments
This Agreement may be amended from time to time by a two-thirds vote of the entire JPA Executive Committee and a unanimous vote of the CVBJPA Members’ legislative bodies in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Joint Exercise of Powers Act and all other applicable laws.

Section 2528. Ambiguities or Uncertainties
The CVBJPA Members have mutually negotiated the terms and conditions of this Agreement and each CVBJPA Member received independent legal advice from its attorneys with respect to the advisability of executing this Agreement and the meaning of the provisions contained herein. As such, this Agreement is a product of the joint drafting efforts of all CVBJPA Members and none of the CVBJPA Members shall be deemed to have solely or independently prepared or framed this Agreement. Therefore, any ambiguities or uncertainties are not to be construed against or in favor of any CVBJPA Member.

Section 2629. Applicable Law
This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

Section 2730. Venue
In the event that suit is brought by any party to this Agreement, the parties agree that venue shall be exclusively vested in the State courts of the County of Riverside, California or where appropriate, in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, Riverside, California.

Section 2831. Notices
Any notice or communication required hereunder between the JPA and the CVBJPA Members shall be in writing, and may be given either personally or by registered mail, returnreceipt requested. Notice, whether given by registered mail or personal delivery, shall be deemed to have been given and received on the actual receipt by any of the addresses designated below as the party to whom notices are to be sent. Any party hereto may at any time, upon written notice to the other party hereto, designate any other address in substitution of the address to which such notice or communication shall be given. Such notices or communications shall be given to the parties at their addresses set forth below:

Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"

Page 351 ends

Item 28.
17 City of Cathedral City
68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
Attention: City Manager
City of Desert Hot Springs
11711 West DriveCoachella
Desert Hot Springs53990
Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92240 92236
Attention: City Manager
City of Indian Wells 44950 El
DoradoDesert Hot Springs
Indian Wells11999 Palm Drive
Desert Hot Springs, CA
9221092240 Attention: City
Manager
City of IndioIndian
Wells 44950 Eldorado
Drive
Indian Wells100 Civic
Center Mall Indio, CA
9220192210 Attention:

City Manager
City of La Quinta 78495 Calle TampicoIndio
100 Civic Center Mall La
Quinta
Indio, CA 92253 92201
Attention: City Manager
City of Palm Desert
La Quinta 78495
Calle Tampico
73510 Fred Waring Drive
Palm DesertLa Quinta,
CA 9226092253
Attention: City Manager
City of Palm SpringsDesert
3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way
73510 Fred Waring Drive
Palm SpringsDesert, CA
9226292260
Attention: City Manager
City of Rancho Mirage 69-825 Highway
111Palm Springs
Rancho Mirage3200 East
Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm
Springs, CA 9227092262
Attention: City Manager
City of Rancho Mirage
69825 Highway 111
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270County of Riverside
County Administration Center
4080 Lemon Street
Riverside, California 92501
Attention: County ClerkCity
Manager
County of Riverside
County Administration Center
4080 Lemon Street
Riverside, California 92501
Attention: County Clerk
Section 2932. Counterparts
This Agreement may be executed in duplicate counterpart originals, each of which is deemed to be an original, and all of which when taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

Section 3033. Privileges and Immunities
Pursuant to section 6513 of the Government Code, all of the privileges and immunities from liability, exemptions from laws, ordinances and rules, all pension, relief, Formatted: Normal, Left
Formatted ...

Formatted: Right: 1.08"
Formatted: Character scale: 105%
Formatted ...

Formatted: Character scale: 105%
Formatted: Right: 1.69"
Formatted ...

Formatted ...

Formatted: Character scale: 100%
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted ...

Formatted: Condensed by 0.6 pt
Formatted: Right: 1.88"
Formatted: Character scale: 100%
Formatted ...

Formatted: Right: 0.91"
Formatted ...

Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted ...

Formatted ...

Formatted: Character scale: 105%
Formatted: Right: 0"
Formatted: Right: 0"

Page 352 ends

Item 28.
18 disability, workmen’s compensation, and other benefits which apply to the activity of officers, agents or employees of any the Parties when performing their respective functions within the territorial limits of their respective public agencies, shall apply to them to the same degree and extent while engaged in the performance of any of their functions and duties performed extraterritorially under the provisions of this Agreement. Formatted: Character scale: 105%

Page 353 ends

Item 28.
19 [SIGNATURES APPEAR ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES]

Page 354 ends

Item 28.
20 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the duly authorized representatives of the CVBJPA Members have each executed this Agreement.

CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Mark Carnevale, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Charlie McClendon, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Tracey R. Hermosillo, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Eric S. Vail, City Attorney

CITY OF DESERT HOT

SPRINGSCOACHELLA
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Steven Hernandez, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Gabriel Martin, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Angela M. Zepeda, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Carlos Campos, City Attorney

CITY OF INDIAN WELLSDESERT

HOT SPRINGS
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Scott Matas, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:

CITY OF INDIOINDIAN WELLS
____________________________________
_____________________,
_________________________________
Greg Sanders, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5"
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted Table
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: Not Bold
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: Not Bold
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: Not Bold
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: Not Bold

Page 355 ends

Item 28.
21 ___________________________
_________________________________
Frank Luckino, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Jerryl Soriano, CMC, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Jennifer Mizrahi, City Attorney
_________________________________
Christopher Freeland, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Angelica Avila, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Todd Leishman, City Attorney
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 11 pt

Page 356 ends

Item 28.
22 CITY OF LA QUINTAINDIO
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Guadalupe Ramos Amith, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Bryan Montgomery, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Cynthia Hernandez, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Steven P. Graham, City Attorney

CITY OF PALM DESERTLA QUINTA
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Linda Evans, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Jon McMillen, City Manager
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Monika Redeva, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
William H. Ihrke, City Attorney

CITY OF PALM SPRINGSDESERT
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Karina Quintanilla, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Todd Hileman, City Manager

CITY OF RANCHO MIRAGEPALM

SPRINGS
____________________________________
_____________________,________________
_________________
Jeffrey Bernstein, Mayor
____________________________________
_____________________,Dated:
___________________________
_________________________________
Scott Stiles, City Manager
Formatted Table ...

Formatted ...

Page 357 ends

Item 28.
23 ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Anthony Mejia, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Isra Shah, City Attorney
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,__________________
_______________
Brenda Pree, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________,_____________
___________________
Jeffrey Ballinger, City Attorney
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 11 pt

Page 358 ends

Item 28.
24 COUNTYCITY OF RIVERSIDERANCHO
MIRAGE
____________________________________
_____________________,_______________________
__________
Steve Downs, Mayor
Dated: ___________________________
_________________________________
Isaiah Hagerman, City Manager
Chairman
____________________________________
_____________, County Executive Officer
ATTEST:
____________________________________
___________________,________________________
_________
Kristie Ramos, City Clerk of the Board
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________________
________________________, County Counsel
________________________________
Steven B, Quintanilla, City Attorney

COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
_____________________________
_______
Chuck Washington, Chairman
_____________________________
_______
Jeff Van Wagenen, County
Executive Manager
ATTEST:
_____________________________
_______
Kimberly A. Rector, Clerk of the
Board
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________
_______
Minh Tran, County Counsel
Formatted Table
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Normal
Formatted: Font: 12 pt
Formatted: Font: 12 pt

Page 359 ends

Item 28.
25 EXHIBIT A
TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES Formatted: Font: 11 pt

Page 360 ends

Item 28.

Formatted: Font: Bold
Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Top: 0.81", Bottom: 0.81"

Page 361 ends

Item 28.

Page 362 ends

Item 28.

Page 363 ends

Item 28.

Page 364 ends

Item 28.

Page 365 ends

Item 28.

Page 366 ends

Item 28.

Page 367 ends

Item 28.

Page 368 ends

Item 28.

Page 369 ends

Item 28.

Page 370 ends

Item 28.

Page 371 ends

Item 28.

Page 372 ends

Item 28.

Page 373 ends

Item 28.

Page 374 ends

Item 28.

Page 375 ends

Item 28.

Page 376 ends

Item 28.

Page 377 ends

Item 28.

Page 378 ends

Item 28.

Page 379 ends

Item 28.

Page 380 ends

Item 28.

Page 381 ends

Item 28.

Page 382 ends

Item 28.

Page 383 ends

Item 28.

Page 384 ends

Item 28.

Page 385 ends

Item 28.

Page 386 ends

Item 28.

Page 387 ends

Item 28.

Page 388 ends

Item 28.

Page 389 ends

Item 28.
2023 RESULTS
&
2024 GOALS

Page 390 ends

Item 28.
2 BOARD PRIORITIES

REGIONAL COLLABORATION
JPA City Grants
In 2023, cities used their JPA Grant awards for new and expanded visitor events including Indian Wells WinterFest, Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival, the Known Gallery Mural Festival, Lunar Festival at The River, Desert Jazz Festival, and Desert WineFest, as well as enhancements to visitor experiences like the Badlands Hiking Trail in Indio. Palm Desert’s grant is going toward a Wayfi nding Master Plan, including production and installation of new wayfi nding signage throughout the city.

Rancho Mirage used some of their funds to support a new sustainability initiative – a grant program for restaurants in the city helping them eliminate single-use plastics and support edible food recovery.
2024
The grant will be reallocated for economic diversity development recruitment efforts. We will be working with an agency on branding and developing an RFP to develop a strategic plan.

The goal is to launch a campaign and web site this year. A technical advisory committee of the city economic development directors will be formed to guide these efforts.

Advocacy and Community Engagement
2024
We will engage a lobbying fi rm this year to actively advocate for organizational priorities at the state and regional level, including a standalone Cal State Campus in Palm Desert, rail service, improved energy infrastructure, short-term vacation rental legislation, shade trees and structures, regional mobility, wayfi nding, solutions for workforce housing, homelessness, and action at the Salton Sea. This includes communicating our priorities to elected offi cials and lawmakers, highlighting progress and opportunities in presentations to partners and community members, and sharing opportunities for partners or those in the community to support.

BOARD PRIORITIES

Page 391 ends

Item 28.
3 BOARD PRIORITIES
TEAM GPS Ambassador Program
2023
Developed two new social media channels (@TeamGreaterPS) resulting in 14,983 impressions and 4,131 video views, increasing engagement and awareness, supporting local events, and spotlighting hospitality and tourism workforce priorities.

Supported 98 hospitality employees with scholarships for Emerging Leaders Certifi cate training through COD.

Launched the TEAM GPS Champions Mobile Pass, containing exclusive offers and check-in rewards for TEAM GPS Champions in July 2023.
2024
In partnership with COD’s PaCE program, launch online self-paced TEAM GPS Champions course. Offer additional training and certifi cations to our workforce including Emerging Leaders and DEI for Hospitality courses.

Focus on growing engagement of the TEAM GPS Champions Pass, which offers prizes, discounts, and rewards for Champions as they meet milestones, encouraging them to experience locations throughout the destination.

Grow audience for new social media channels (@TeamGreaterPS – Instagram & Facebook) focusing on creating content that will raise community engagement and awareness of Team GPS, support community and partnership events, and spotlight hospitality and tourism workforce priorities.

Page 392 ends

Item 28.
4 BOARD PRIORITIES
Workforce Development
2023
Conducted focus groups to refi ne and improve our hospitality careers marketing campaign.

Established HR Steering Committee to gain feedback and provide employers tools for training and connections resources available.

Raised $141,000 for the Tourism Foundation towards our mission to award scholarships and promote careers in tourism.

Scholarships: Awarded $24,000 through partnership with OneFuture Coachella Valley; $12,000 scholarship to College of the Desert Hospitality Management students study abroad trip to Japan; and $22,489 in scholarships for Emerging Leaders Certifi cate training. 2024
Update and launch Careers in Hospitality campaign creative, provide content and recommendations for video and article content.

Continue partnership with OneFuture Coachella Valley to provide and promote scholarships for local students interested in hospitality careers through the Tourism Foundation.

Outreach to youth organizations and school districts - organize opportunities and events to present to students and expand awareness of opportunities in hospitality.

Create a youth-led Young Hospitality Champions Network. They will take the TEAM GPS Champions training and plan quarterly events to connect with hospitality professionals and each other.

Explore creating a pilot micro-internship program with students from local school districts, College of the Desert, and CSUSB Palm Desert.

Initiate research study on Coachella Valley hospitality workforce – gather demographic data (gender, ethnicity), place of residence, and break down salary and wages by entry level, management, and executive level management positions.

Page 393 ends

Item 28.
5 BOARD PRIORITIES
DEI & Cultural Tourism
2023
We continued to build out content for sustainability, accessibility, and cultural tourism, ensuring that the diversity of the destination is authentically represented:
• Launched Native American Culture landing page.
• Launched Community & Culture landing page.
• Collaborations with diverse content creators.

Awarded CalTravel’s DEI Champion Award in September 2023 in recognition of our commitment to DEI.

Executed Phase 3 of our Travel Unity partnership, which included stakeholder engagement – meetings with cities and focus groups with diverse small businesses.

Partnered with Caravanserai project to support 30 Spanish-speaking small business entrepreneurs from across the Coachella Valley with businesses in the tourism or hospitality space. • Hosted a showcase event at the PS Art Museum in September in partnership with Caravanserai Project to broaden the networks of Spanish speaking entrepreneurs with small businesses in the tourism & hospitality industry with over 200 partners attending.

Launched an initiative to become a Certified Autism Destination, where hotels, restaurants, attractions, events, and cities from across the Coachella Valley are encouraged to become Certified Autism Centers.
• 11 partners became certified including: The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory, Variety Children’s Charity of the Desert, Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs, FARM, Tac/Quila, The Front Porch, Clandestino, and the City of Palm Desert.

Page 394 ends

Item 28.
6 BOARD PRIORITIES
2024
Diversity will be authentically represented across messaging and imagery, and alignment with influencers and content creators offering diverse perspectives will be proactively sought to support these priorities.

In preparation for IGLTA in 2025, organize Planning Committee with key stakeholders and LGBTQ+ organizations.

We will continue many successful partnerships from last year:
• Working with Travel Unity on stakeholder engagement.
• Continue partnering with Caravanserai Project to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses with tourism business readiness training and networking opportunities/ events.

Cultural tourism will continue to be a focus, continuing a full content plan in 2024 to support cultural tourism for the destination. In Q1, we will launch and promote a custom episode of BBC Storyworks’ “In Pursuit of Wellness” series, focusing on the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The content will be further amplified via the Global Wellness Institute’s channels, including email, social media, website, and media outreach.

A Native American culture page will continue to be evolved and expanded upon this year.

We will continue to engage and foster relationships with diverse content creators in these spaces to organically showcase how our destination is committing to all aspects of DEI, cultural tourism, accessibility, and sustainability.

We will work with Wheel the World to assess and promote the accessibility assets of 30 tourism partners this year and highlight them through this platform.

We will achieve a Certified Autism Destination designation this year and continue to promote Autism Certification with a goal of getting at least one more city and 10 more business partners to become certified autism centers.

Page 395 ends

Item 28.
7 BOARD PRIORITIES
Sustainability
2023
Recognized in a global competition by Green Destinations as being part of their Top 100 Sustainability Stories after completing a rigourous 15-point sustainability check.

Partnered with Kind Traveler to launch their Give & Get booking platform (incentivizing travelers to give back to the communities they visit) with 5 properties in the destination resulting in 62 media placements, 240K campaign website views, 10.2M audience reach,15 Kind Traveler Instagram posts, 165K Social Views, $2,539 in Donations to LGBTQ Community Center & Friends of the Desert Mountains which equates to 9,316 meals served at The Center, and 20 youths served with outdoor science STEAM supplies with Friends of the Desert Mountains. 2024
Our sustainability goals include getting selected as a Green Destinations Top 100 again this year, joining the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and having our staff trained in sustainable tourism through GSTC. Sustainability includes promoting and communicating green practices, our cultural heritage, and economic opportunities for our workforce and communities.

In 2024 we will also partner with Zinc Media on Season 2 of their Sustainable Travel Documentary Series. This video series is targeted to an international audience interested in sustainability in the travel space and will be amplifi ed by Sublime Magazine and Sustainable Travel International, focusing on conversation efforts in Greater Palm Springs through organizations like Friends of the Desert Mountains.

Page 396 ends

Item 28.
8 BOARD PRIORITIES
Restaurant Week
2023
Restaurant Week returned June 2-13, 2023 with 86 restaurants participating from all 9 cities and over $500k in media value supporting the event.
• 247 million TV impressions.
• 20.4 million radio impressions.
• 4,304 reservations made through dineGPS.com.
• 32 media placements resulting in over 24 million impressions. • Social media infl uencer FAM resulted in over 332K video views. • Presenting Partner Agua Caliente Casinos hosted the restaurant week kickoff event May 31, 2023 at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage with over 250 partners and 32 media attending. 2024
Dates are May 31 – June 9, 2024

Page 397 ends

Item 28.
9 BOARD PRIORITIES
Vacation Rentals Education/Research
2023
In 2023 we engaged CV Strategies to conduct research and build out a local brand campaign to increase positive messaging and communication and build support within community. We also started a webinar with Rent Responsibly to launch a vacation rental host education series and shared a resource library for Coachella Valley hosts at greaterpalmsprings.rentresponsibly.org. We also completed an updated economic impact study for 2022 and completed a resident study on local sentiment towards vacation rentals (72% feel favorable about short-term rentals in their city). 2024
We will continue to promote the benefi ts of vacation rental tourism locally through retained PR and marketing agency CV Strategies. This includes the launch of a new brand, “One Coachella Valley – Short Term Rentals, Long Term Benefi ts” with a full media plan including digital advertising and connected television – launching in Q1 2024.

Our lobbying fi rm will also engage at the state level in areas of priority for our short-term rental stakeholders including opposing SB 584 and other threats to local city tax revenues. We will continue to provide resources and best practices to vacation rental operators and cities through our education partnership with Rent Responsibly, commission an updated economic impact of vacation rental tourism for 2023, advocate for balanced vacation rental policies, and partner with the major platforms to communicate with vacation rental operators.

Page 398 ends

Item 28.
10 BOARD PRIORITIES
Air Service Development
2023
Palm Springs International Airport has continued to experience record passenger growth in 2023 to offi cially mark the busiest year on record with 3.2 million total passengers, as full-year demand was up 25% versus 2019 and up 8% versus 2022. Capacity was up 30% versus 2019. The airport currently boasts 16 new markets versus 2019 and welcomed back the seasonal return of 20 routes in fall 2023: from Chicago (ORD) on both American Airlines and United Airlines, from Edmonton (YEG) and Winnipeg (YWG) on WestJet; and from Eugene (EUG), Redmond (RDM), and Santa Rosa (STS) on Avelo. We attended (5) airline industry conferences in 2023 with network planners and executed one headquarter visit to United Airlines.
2024/25
Airline network planners are working on the fall 2024 routes, and our goal is to advocate for key hub routes to begin in September and October vs. November and December. This will be a challenge with the continued issues related to equipment and staffi ng. We will also continue to extend key routes later in the season to late June.

Our top priorities will also focus on growing year-round service to major hub airports such as Chicago, Atlanta, Salt Lake, Houston, Toronto, and pursue new seasonal nonstop markets such as Washington DC, Detroit, Spokane, Charlotte and Philadelphia.

We will continue our presence at industry conferences such as Jump Start, Airport Roundtable and Routes America while also making personal visits to airline headquarters. We will also create opportunities to host network planners and their internal strategic meetings in Greater Palm Springs and include pre and post leisure opportunities to learn more about the destination.

Assess fl y markets in key domestic destinations including Pacifi c NW and DC for potential events/activations.

Focus attention on aligning Public Relations efforts with Meetings and Tourism Development on opportunities.

Preparing for international service from Mexico and Europe as well as secondary Canadian markets is another important priority as we plan for the airport expansion. Continue to build relationships with network planners of foreign based carriers and support PSP’s master plan for an FIS / Customs & Border Patrol.

Support PSP expansion and Master Planning process during the planning and early approval and implementation process. Gather letters of support from airlines for airport international expansion.

Page 399 ends

Item 28.
11 BOARD PRIORITIES

SALES & MARKETING
2023 Marketing
In 2023, our consumer advertising initiatives included a multimedia approach to maximize outreach and engagement generating 25.3B impressions in 2023 across all platforms. Television played a central role, with strategic placements on Cable, KTLA in Los Angeles, and connected television platforms. Out-of-home advertising made a strong impact, capturing attention in drive and direct fly markets. Our presence extended to OTA platforms, with prominent visibility on Expedia, VRBO, TripAdvisor, Travelzoo, ensuring a significant online footprint. Digital campaigns were strategically executed across various platforms, including Centro, Sojern, Nativo, and Pandora, offering a dynamic online presence. This comprehensive approach across multiple channels reflected our commitment to reaching and resonating with diverse audiences in 2023.

With more year-round flights than ever, marketing of all new and existing nonstop flights to our destination is supported through our advertising efforts in fly markets. New advertising was also vetted with Ailevon Pacific and launched at the end of 2023 in the following one-stop markets: Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Washington D.C., and Indianapolis.

In 2023, co-op programs included television, digital outdoor billboards, digital advertising (display, native content, streaming audio), and social media. Aside from our Pandora streaming audio co-op, which is a summer program, all co-ops are offered year-round to active VGPS partners. In addition to paid advertising co-ops, VGPS also offers in-kind event support billboards in Los Angeles and San Diego for first-time and signature events taking place in the destination. These programs are subsidized through Riverside County Grant through June 2024.

In 2023, we had the following partners across all programs:
• (9) Digital and/or Billboard Co-Op Partners: BNP Paribas Open, City of Desert Hot Springs, Doubletree Palm Springs, Hyatt Regency Indian Wells, Kaiser Grille Palm Springs, Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs, PGA West Golf Course La Quinta, Palm Mountain Resort & Spa, and Sensei Porcupine Creek. • (11) Summer Television Co-Op Partners: JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa; Omni Rancho Las Palmas; The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage; Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels; Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa; Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa; Agua Caliente Casinos; Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, Indian Wells; City of La Quinta; The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens; Visit Palm Springs. • (2) Fall/Winter Television Co-Op Partners: BNP Paribas Open, The Galleri Classic. • (26) In-Kind Event Billboards: The American Express, Palm Springs International Film Festival, BNP Paribas Open, Palm Springs Pinot Fest, Taste of Jalisco, Fashion Week El Paseo, Palm Desert Food & Wine, Modernism Week February, The Galleri Classic, La Quinta Art Celebration, Cathedral City LGBT Days, Desert X, City of Palm Springs 85th Anniversary, Modernism Week October, Cinema Diverse, Run with Los Muertos, Greater Palm Springs Pride, McCormick’s Car Auction, La Quinta Art Celebration Encore, Feel Good Festival, Props & Hops, Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival, Magic of Lights, Ironman, Palm Springs Holidays, Indian Wells Winterfest.

Page 400 ends

Item 28.
12 BOARD PRIORITIES
Content Driven Media – New content programs were added in 2023 including AFAR Magazine, Lonely Planet, and California Live to allow for expanded coverage of the destination and pillar-specific content (dining, outdoor activities, arts & culture, and wellness) via content pieces and broadcast coverage. Aligning with travel-centric publications like AFAR and Lonely Planet allowed us to reach audiences with a propensity to travel to Greater Palm Springs, and broadcast programs in the California drive markets allowed us to create custom television segments focusing on late spring/early summer resort getaways, dining, and vacation rentals.

PR/Marketing
2024
A new brand campaign in partnership with Starfish Branding Agency will launch in 2024, including tagline and creative ad development, video production, and updated photography that will be incorporated into all non-summer Visit Greater Palm Springs advertising. Three campaigns will be tested with consumers with research company SMARI, who has been our research partner since 2013 to measure effectiveness of advertising and marketing programs including ROI and creative evaluations. This research will be conducted with consumers in drive and fly markets (14 total markets). This campaign will go into production in the spring, with deployment in September following the summer campaign.

In 2024, we will continue to support our culinary experiences, launching a new dineGPS video series with (6) new pieces of video content focusing on the culinary experiences in the destination. We also plan to support Greater Palm Springs’ evolving culinary landscape through content and promotion of new and existing restaurants, unique culinary experiences and celebrity chefs entering the market. A key objective for 2024 is adding more Michelin-rated or recommended restaurants to our culinary accolades.

In partnership with Bandwango, our annual Summer Eats Pass featuring restaurant offers will deploy immediately following Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week and will be supported by a full media plan.

Local restaurants will also be featured and promoted throughout new social/video and blog content programming planned for 2024.

Continuing to support arts & culture in our destination is a key part of our 2024 goals. We will continue to promote the year-round Oasis of Art campaign, which includes the Art & Sol video series, artsGPS app, signature events, museums, and murals/public art offerings. We will continue to deploy new content and align our advertising with applicable events throughout the year, including Modernism Week and signature music and arts festivals, as well as nightlife and entertainment in the destination.

As part of the overall Oasis of Art campaign, (4) new Art & Sol video series videos highlighting (7) local artists will deploy in 2024 and will be supported with a dedicated media plan including video display advertising, native content, and social media.

Page 401 ends

Item 28.
13 BOARD PRIORITIES
The outdoor experiences and health & wellness pillars will continue to be promoted throughout our seasonal marketing efforts with dedicated travel-related content programs and platforms such as Lonely Planet and Travelzoo.

In addition to incorporating LGBTQ+ marketing throughout our campaigns including digital advertising, content and social media, dedicated programs will be launched with OutThere Magazine which includes content, print advertorial, digital and social media.

Tracking & Attribution – We will launch a new partnership with Arrivalist beginning in January 2024.

Arrivalist’s visitation intelligence platform will allow us to better track our digital media lift and efficiency, gathering information on arrivals into the destination to help us make more informed decisions and identify key markets and targeting. Arrivalist will provide additional data in conjunction with other platforms VGPS utilizes, such as Adara and Near.

Proactive targeting and pitching to our top “most wanted media” list including national and regional coverage such as NY Times, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast, Lonely Planet, National Geographic, LA Times, Seattle Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Afar, Outside, etc.

Assess fly markets in key domestic markets including Pacific NW and DC for potential events/activations. Focus attention on aligning with Meetings and Tourism Development on opportunities.

Research and pursue one national broadcast in the market for board consideration, amplifying our reach and impact on a broader scale. Broadcast examples include Live with Kelly & Mark, The Today Show, Good Morning American, The Tonight Show etc.

VP of Communications will collaborate with Director of Community Engagement and Director of Corporate Communications to amplify public affairs messaging increasing coverage on the topics of DEI, Sustainability and Workforce Development. Work with agencies to broaden reach through media pitches.

Page 402 ends

Item 28.
14 BOARD PRIORITIES
Vacation Rentals Marketing/Production
2023
In 2023, we continued to incorporate vacation rental information and imagery throughout our overall marketing campaign year-round. This includes television spots, out-of-home, social media, digital video content, and blog content and articles.

In addition to these inclusions, we also ran several dedicated campaigns driving to the vacation rental landing page on the Visit Greater Palm Springs website. These campaigns included year-round VRBO advertising, digital display via Centro, native content via Centro and Nativo, a vacation rental segment on California live that ran on local California NBC stations, and content articles with Locale Magazine. In addition to our year-round campaign with VRBO, we also ran a highly successful VRBO summer campaign, which generated over $17.5M in gross bookings to the destination.

To add to our asset library, a dedicated photo and video shoot also took place in 2023 at a La Quinta vacation rental, showcasing a multi-generational family and providing assets that were utilized across our marketing efforts for the year.
2024
Vacation rentals will continue to be integrated into destination-wide marketing campaigns in addition to dedicated vacation rental advertising programs including digital display, native content, social media, and year-round advertising with VRBO.

Some of these dedicated programs include a summer campaign in 2024 with VRBO following the success of our 2023 summer “pool floatie” campaign. This year’s program will focus more heavily on video content with the goal of expanding our library of assets.

Additional dedicated programs include content with Sunset Magazine, broadcast opportunities with NBC/California Live, and influencer marketing.

We will continue to engage the Advisory Group to further enhance, develop and uncover new marketing opportunities.

Page 403 ends

Item 28.
15 BOARD PRIORITIES
International PR/Marketing
2023
In January 2023, VGPS entered a strategic partnership with Finn Partners, a comprehensive marketing and public relations agency. This collaboration has allowed us to enhance and broaden our commitment to international recovery efforts. Our consumer marketing initiative kicked off between April and June, leveraging a comprehensive approach encompassing digital, social, and video. With a particular focus on the UK and Ireland, our expanded partnership focused on elevating awareness.

We also embarked on an immensely fruitful two-week activation throughout five locations in the UK and Ireland, “Greater Palm Springs Roadtrip” in collaboration with Finn Partners, forging nearly 10,000 engagements with consumers, trade and media professionals.

Additionally, consumer marketing co-ops were established with Visit CA and Brand USA and launched in UK/ Ireland, France, Australia, Germany and Mexico.
2024
Our objective is to further refine and optimize our UK/Ireland campaign, using a funnel approach towards generating increased consideration and conversions from consumers who have been exposed to our impactful marketing efforts. Additionally, added targeting for LGBTQ+ will be launched in 2024 across all international media programs.

We will continue to optimize marketing programs with Brand USA and Visit California in 2024 to reach and expand presence in international markets including UK/Ireland, France, Australia, Germany, Mexico, and Canada.

Marketing opportunities in Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea will be researched.

Our brand partnership with Globe-Trotter will be continued in 2024 with the creation of new product with activation planned in France.

For Public Relations efforts, maintain emphasis on the UK/Ireland. Create strategic initiatives to enhance our position in the Japanese and Korean markets, seeking opportunities for increased media visibility, including one inbound media visits to GPS. Investigate Mexico as a secondary market: Undertake research and execute strategies to establish a presence in the Mexican market, identifying channels for media involvement.

Page 404 ends

Item 28.
16 BOARD PRIORITIES
Convention Sales
2023
With continued recovery of group business as a key priority for our organization, we will continue to optimize our new campaign that launched in October 2023, “The Oasis is Real.” New video assets from this campaign have allowed us to include more engaging video content as part of our Convention Sales media plan, showcasing our destination via meeting planner publications, e-mail newsletters, lead-generation opportunities, and digital targeting to reach planners, executives, and decision-makers.

Summer bookings for June-August are up 7,857 room nights to pace target for 2024 bookings and up 1,108 room nights to STLY and are up 4,584 room nights compared to same time in 2019.

Strategic partnerships will continue to evolve with organizations like American Express, ASAE, CalSAE, Conference Direct, Helms Briscoe, HPN, Maritz, PCMA, and Prestige, allowing us to increase our advertising presence across their channels and receive customized benefits such as event registrations, sponsorship opportunities, and access to research and survey data.
2024
Continue to maximize marketing opportunities within media plan and with strategic partners utilizing new assets from “The Oasis is Real” campaign. Continue to focus on content creation for meeting planner audience including a new custom white paper on sustainability.
2024 includes a robust travel calendar including client events, tradeshows, and FAMs.

Focus on off-peak business opportunities, we are updating our summer incentive program, strategically targeting potential clients through direct sales efforts. Our proactive approach involves addressing summer business and key patterns during key months: December, January, and mid-week in April. The refreshed summer incentive will be relaunched, featuring prominently in our media content, social media channels, and direct sales efforts.

To capitalize on our peak season, emphasis will be placed on incentive and corporate segments to maximize group ADR and overall spend.

Recognizing the potential in the sports market, we are introducing a dedicated vertical market to attract and retain events, especially during shoulder seasons. This targeted initiative aims to solidify our position as a preferred destination for sports-related events.

Page 405 ends

Item 28.
17 BOARD PRIORITIES
Travel Trade
2023
Collectively in 2023, the Tourism Development team hosted over 110 clients in Greater Palm Springs, executed 27 travel trade marketing programs, traveled to over 100 industry events and met with over 8,000 clients across 26 countries.
2024
Recent research from U.S. Travel underscored that substantial improvements for international inbound visitors need to be addressed. The United States ranks 17th out of 18 top travel markets in terms of global competitiveness, according to Euromonitor International. Decades of underinvestment and a lack of focus and coordination from federal policymakers caused the U.S. to fall behind, while other countries actively apply robust strategies to increase travel and grow economic output.

There will be continued focus on hosting client FAMS, developing a comprehensive Program of Work, and partnering with travel agent associations, Visit California and Brand USA. These types of collaborations provide quality interactions with influential travel representatives with the goal of providing enriching itineraries with unique experiences for these FAMS and events.

We will be evolving the travel trade webpage and creating engaging content and resources as well as adding a Global Webpage to be used as a resource for partners and stakeholders on international markets.

We will research and implement B2B and B2B2C marketing programs in both domestic and international markets.

We will continue offering training sessions, whether in person or recorded, and hosting workshops for tour operators and travel companies.

Page 406 ends

Item 28.
18 BOARD PRIORITIES
Continue collaborations with Southern California Triangle (Santa Monica and San Diego) and luxury market (Santa Barbara and West Hollywood) to create marketing programs and custom curated itineraries.

Focus on International MICE segment in the UK, France, Asia, and Australia through travel, client engagements, and MICE targeted events.

Leverage our memberships with ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Agencies), ASTA, PATA, and MAPTA and key relationships with airline vacation business units as well as key accounts to reach top advisors.

Maximize exposure through presence at U.S. Travel’s IPW, the leading inbound travel trade show in the United States, which is returning to California in Los Angeles. Our participation this year will be enhanced as the sole sponsor of the Wellness Lounge, a dedicated area on the trade show floor showcasing our Health & Wellness pillar. We will also be featured in the California Plaza, a collection of destination activations adjacent to the convention center and providing additional networking time with key clients.

Page 407 ends

Item 28.
19 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS
2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS

CONVENTION SALES
2023
The continued positive momentum in the recovery of meetings and events is evident in the exceptional team booking year achieving 121% of our 2023 room night goal. GPS was one of the destinations with the fastest recovery due to open spaces and outdoor options. From a national level perspective, some areas are not back to 2019 numbers and have potential to still grow, while GPS has realized post-pandemic production numbers.

Local Directors of Sales & Marketing are reporting a softer start to the year on lead volume, with a noticeable lack of short-term corporate demand that traditionally helps to fill in Q1 gaps. VGPS Booking pace for Q1 2024 is behind STLY and with auditing our lost/turndown leads, we had 346 lost leads for Q1 2024, 18% of leads were turned down due to rate or lack of availability at the hotels.

VGPS has seen a decline in lead volume by -9% from July – December compared to 2022, (728 vs 794) and compared to the first half of the year where we were 16% ahead of 2022.

The following resort properties will be under construction in 2024, Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa and La Quinta Resort & Club, which could limit availability and may be a deterrent for planners from booking.

The current vacant Southeast/Sports market position could impact 2024 team production in the first 6 months of the year. This market’s production has a 3-year average of 31,220 room nights booked.

Slowing economy shown with weakening labor market as you look at both job openings and wage growth rate declining as reported by Tourism Economics. The rate of growth is slowing as we go into 2024; consumers are expected to reduce spending as confidence weakens and demand softens.

Election year historically impacts corporate confidence in booking meetings.

Page 408 ends

Item 28.
20 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS
The graph below is the most recent national group forecast from October 2023 reported by Tourism Economics.

The forecast is weaker than the last forecast for 2024 and future years. Downside assumes a combination of factors such as lower attendance levels, weaker economy, and greater hesitancy to plan group events.

Page 409 ends

Item 28.
21 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS
CBRE has forecasted a drop of -0.5% in total occupancy for 2024 in the Coachella Valley compared to 2023.

ADR is predicted to stabilize with a 0.8% increase forecasted for 2024.

Looking towards 2024, Coachella Valley RevPAR is expected to grow 0.3%. This is slower than the forecasted rate of growth for 2023. Unlike 2023, prospects for RevPAR growth in the lower-priced segment (3.0%) is better than in the upper-priced segment (negative 1.6%). Coachella Valley market occupancy levels are expected to range from

65.% to 65.8% during the 5-year forecast.

Future Long-Term Pace indicates we are ahead of targets for 2024 and 2025. Continued focus and opportunity in 2026 and beyond for association business is a priority for the team.

Page 410 ends

Item 28.
22 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS
Room nights on the books are also ahead of STLY and ST19 for 2024 and 2025.

CONVENTION SALES GOALS
2024

HISTORICAL/GOALS
2019
GOAL
2019
ACTUAL
2022
GOAL
2022
ACTUAL
2023
GOAL
2023

STRETCH
GOAL
2023
ACTUAL
2024
GOAL
2024

STRETCH
GOAL
ROOM NIGHTS 222,500 217,337 155,000 182,105 185,500 206,500 225,052 207,000 225,000 # GROUPS
BOOKED 375 350 260 332 N/A N/A 424 N/A N/A
LEAD
DISTRIBUTION 1,148 1,155 1,150 1,564 1,450 1,550 1,620 1,650 1,730 NEW
BOOKINGS -- 151 -- 212 220 230 288 290 305

NEW LEAD
DISTRIBUTION 668 648 600 843 825 875 863 870 885

Page 411 ends

Item 28.
23 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS

WEBSITE GOALS
2024
NEW MEASUREMENT WITH GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 (GA4)
2022
ACTUAL
2022
GA4 ACTUAL
2023
GA4 GOAL
2023
GA4 ACTUAL
2024
GA4 GOAL
Users 2,548,954 2,324,142 2,347,383 2,504,188 2,604,355 Sessions 3,381,663 2,933,794 2,963,132 3,201,586 3,329,649 Highly Engaged
Sessions 1,138,289 1,138,289 1,149,672 1,379,646 1,408,698 Qualified
Sessions 252,917 252,917 255,446 651,638 667,531
• 2023 will be used as a baseline year for GA4 metrics, which went live July 1, 2023. • 2023 actual “Users” was 107% of goal and actual “Sessions” was at 108% of goal. • Highly engaged sessions were at 120% of goal despite coding error that occurred from August through December. This error will make it difficult to measure highly engaged sessions in 2024, and it will need to be done manually.
• Qualified sessions have increased across the industry based on new definition for this action. Current/new GA4 definition now counts multiple actions each as individual conversions. • In 2024, we will monitor AI Search Generative Experience (SGE) and the impact it may have on website traffic. • SGE could fundamentally change the way users get information and how sites are found on search engines. • Google’s SGE will quickly provide users with the answers they need and not necessarily direct users to other websites or content.
• The impact on site traffic and the click through rate (CTR) of organic results could be materially impacted. • The AI spotlight (first search option) will take precedence over every result, whether organic, paid, or featured.

We are monitoring these activities and adapting our content approach to ensure we are staying current on the changing landscape.

Page 412 ends

Item 28.
24 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS
GLOSSARY:

User: This is the primary user metric in GA4 defined as total unique users that visit the website. It does include a returning website visit in the same browser.

Sessions: A session is the total number of user interactions that take place within a given period. The session counts in your Google Analytics 4 property will be lower than the session counts in Universal Analytics. This is because Google Analytics 4 does not create a new session when the source changes mid-session, while Universal Analytics does create a new session under that circumstance.

Highly engaged session: A website session on visitgreaterpalmsprings.com who has met the following criteria:
• Session duration is greater than 2:00 AND they have visited 2 or more pages during the session. • Subscribed to the eNewsletter.
• Requested a Visitor Guide.
• Clicked “Visit Website”.
• Clicked on coupon on a partner listing.

Qualified Sessions: Conversions are defined as a website visitor that does one of the following:
• Signs up for an eNewsletter.
• Requests a Visitors Guide.
• Visits a partner website.

Page 413 ends

Item 28.
25 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS

SOCIAL MEDIA GOALS
2024
@VISITGREATERPS 2022
GOAL
2022
ACTUAL
2023
GOAL
2023
ACTUAL
2024
GOAL
Impressions 29,000,000 41,213,494 42,000,000 52,920,177 53,000,000 Video Views 5,600,000 7,418,095 7,600,000 9,132,898 9,250,000 Website Clicks 154,000 196,876 199,000 220,263 221,500
• In 2023, we shifted goals to combine channels to look at total metrics together vs. looking at by @visitgreaterps and @dinegps separately. This is due to how much crossover there is between channels as well as the fact that we only have one channel for TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest. • Approximately 2 million impressions were attributed to viral social media posts. • New influencer programs with Crowdriff and Sonic Gods will assist in executing our video and content creation in 2024.

Page 414 ends

Item 28.
26 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS

MEDIA GOALS
2024
Earned Media
2019
ACTUAL
2021
ACTUAL
2022
ACTUAL
2023
GOAL
2023
ACTUAL
2024
GOAL
PR Quality Score 4,452 6,433 6,711 6,800 6,828 6,900
Media Outreach/
Assists 1,786 1,278 2,256 2,500 2,521 2,550
Media Value $18,859,220 $25,466,712 $58,225,830 Tracking $59,571,615 Tracking CS Earned Media
Earned Media
Placements 33 35 62 70 71 75
• PR Quality Score is a point-based system of evaluating the quality of media. Media is rated on a scale of 1-12 based on story type, media tier, visuals, URL, DMO mention, and reader response. This is done through an internal point scoring system.

Page 415 ends

Item 28.
27 2023 RESULTS & 2024 GOALS

PARTNERSHIP AND TOURISM FOUNDATION
2023/2024
2024 REVENUE GOALS 2023 Goal 2023 actual 2024 Goal Stretch goal Partnership Renewal $225,000 $222,547 $125,000 $150,000 New Partners $25,000 $23,684 $25,000 $35,000
DTN-Website $50,000 $78,437.58 $100,000 $120,000
Restaurant Week
Total $380,000 $386,468.58 $330,000 $405,000
Fundraising
Oasis Awards Gala $100,000 $96,503.21 $100,000 $120,000 Golf Tournament $25,000 $35,708 $20,000 $30,000
Other (auctions, sponsors) $25,000 $9,389.30 $20,000 $30,000 Grants
Total $150,000 $141,600.51 $150,000 $200,000

TEAM GPS
Registrations (in-person) 300 140 150 180
Registrations (online) - - 200 250
Partnership Benefits
To further advance our values and foster inclusive relationships with our partners, Visit Greater Palm Springs is making changes to its partnership model, providing benefits that previously required an investment, like brochure distribution in our visitor center, In the Loop partner newsletter, and event invites at no charge to tourism related businesses in the Coachella Valley. This new model is called EngageGPS and will roll our starting February 2024. Low-cost advertising and promotion opportunities will continue to be available, including advertising on our website, event sponsorships, and marketing co-ops.

In addition, the Digital Influence Report initiative will launch first quarter of 2024. The report evaluates the digital presence, online performance, and key metrics for businesses, including aspects such as local presence, reviews, paid search, social media presence, website build, website speed, and SEO. The report provides a detailed breakdown of each business’s performance in these areas, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.

Page 416 ends

Item 28.

Page 417 ends

Item 28.

STAFF REPORT
4/24/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Dr. Gabriel Martin, City Manager
SUBJECT: Approve Resolution No. 2024-14 Modifying the City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program to Include Student Loans Debt Reimbursement STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends approving Resolution No. 2024-14 that will modify the City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program to allow student loans debt as a reimbursable item under the existing program.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

According to the CollegeBoard.Org Trends in Student Aid 20231, there is over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt in the United States with over 46.2 million borrows. The average borrow has a student loan debt of $35,600. The impacts of student loans has been associated with one of the reasons in the decline of home purchases. According to a Federal Reserve Report, the increase in student loan debt between 2005 and 2014 reduced the homeownership rate among young adults by 2 percentage points2. There 6.5 million borrows in default and over 30.5 million in Forbearance/Deferment.

1 Trends in Student Aid 2023 - Trends in Student Aid Highlights - College Board Research 2 Federal Reserve Report - Consumer & Community Context Vol. 1 No. 1, January 2019 (federalreserve.gov)

Page 418 ends

Item 29.

BACKGROUND:

According to Section 13 of the City of Coachella 2023-2027 MOU, the City will reimburse employees fifty percent (50%) of tuition for continuing education in non-job related courses and one hundred percent (100%) of tuition for classes in job related courses. Payment is predicated on an employee receiving a 2.0 grade or better, and is based upon a fiscal year. The City will also reimburse employees one hundred percent (100%) of the cost of job-related college preparatory classes, preparatory classes, certifications, professional licensure preparatory classes, vehicle or equipment certification, Class A or B license fees, and renewal fees on such certifications and licenses. The cost to the City for the reimbursement shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per employee for a twelve (12) month period.

Request for reimbursement must be submitted and approved prior to enrolling in a course or applying for a certification, license or renewal. Employee must complete the Education Reimbursement Request (Form A) and submit it to their Department Director or Supervisor for approval. They must provide the course/certificate/license description, date, and tuition/fee information, and explain how this course will enhance your job related performance, then sign and date the form. If approved, the Department Director or Supervisor signs the form and forwards it to Human Resources to confirm eligibility for reimbursement. Human Resources will then send the form to the City Manager for final approval. The employee will be notified when the request has been approved and a copy of the approved Education Reimbursement Request form will be provided to the employee. After completion of the course/certificate and/or once license is obtained or renewed, the employee must submit the Request for Payment (Form B) to their Department Director or Supervisor for approval, along with the following backup documentation:
a) copy of course(s) grade report/certificate of completion/license; b) copy of payment receipts for amount requested;
c) copy of the approved Education Reimbursement Request form The Department Director or Supervisor will forward the Request for Payment form, along with all backup documentation, to Human Resources for processing. Payment will be made through Accounts Payable.

DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:

With the Educational Reimbursement Program, the City is invested in continuing to educate and develop its workforce and encourages training, self-improvement and personal development programs. Allowing student loans as a reimbursable expenditure would encourage staff to embark on the path of higher education to receive a Bachelor’s degree or continue their higher educational goals by obtaining a Master’s degree. Furthermore, it would promote longevity and reduce turn over as employees would keep taking advantage of this benefit by continuing their employment with the City. This also can be used as a marketing or incentive tool to encourage new employees to apply to the City and attract new and skills staff in this competitive job market. Per the IRS regulations, the Educational Reimbursement Program is not taxable to the recipient and the assistance is limited to $5,250 per year.

Page 419 ends

Item 29.

If approved by City Council, student loans would be allow under the existing Educational Reimbursement Program as an allowed reimbursable item. Employees would be allowed up to $5,000 per twelve (12) month period (based on a fiscal year cycle). Employees serving a probationary period are not eligible for reimbursement. Employee must fill out Form B, provide copy of degree; student loan statements from lenders illustrating payments not exceeding $5,000 per fiscal year; and any other form of documentation indicating payment of student loans, per the request of the Human Resources. The Human Resource Department will review and process all request and payment will be made through Accounts Payable.

The City of Rancho Mirage is the only other city in the Coachella Valley that offers a student loan debt assistance program with a max of $850/fiscal year.

ALTERNATIVES:

1. Approve Resolution No. 2024-XX with Council modifications.

2. Not approve Resolution No. 2024-XX that will modify the City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program to allow student loans debt as a reimbursable item under the existing program.

3. Provide staff with alternative direction
FISCAL IMPACT:

According to the Finance Department the chart below indicates how much was spent on the Educations Reimbursement Program:

Fiscal Year: Amount:
23/24 $7,822.56
22/23 $19,923.06
21/22 $18,178.33
20/21 $28,774.15
19/20 $9,660.49
According to the Human Resource Department, the City currently has 81 employees. Seventeen (17) have a Bachelor’s degree (20.9%), four (4) have a Master’s degree (4.9%) and one (1) has Doctorate degree (1.2%).

Should the City Council approve staff recommendations, this action could have a potential impact of $85,000 per fiscal year on the General Fund Unreserved Fund Balance (Fund 101).

Page 420 ends

Item 29.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Resolution No. 2024-14 that will modify the City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program to allow student loans debt as a reimbursable item under the existing program.

2. City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program

3. City of Coachella Full Time Employee Benefit Summary

4. City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program – Form A

5. City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program – Form B

6. City of Coachella Education Reimbursement Instructions

Page 421 ends

Item 29.

RESOLUTION NO. 2024-14

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF

COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA, MODIFYING THE CITY OF

COACHELLA EDUCATIONAL REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM TO

INCLUDEN STUDENT LOAN DEBT REIMBURSEMENT
WHEREAS, there is over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt in the United States with over

46.2 million borrows. There 6.5 million borrows in default and over 30.5 million in Forbearance/Deferment; and
WHEREAS, according to Section 13 of the City of Coachella 2023-2027 MOU, the City will reimburse employees fifty percent (50%) of tuition for continuing education in non-job related courses and one hundred percent (100%) of tuition for classes in job related courses. Payment is predicated on an employee receiving a 2.0 grade or better, and is based upon a fiscal year; and WHEREAS, the City will also reimburse employees one hundred percent (100%) of the cost of job-related college preparatory classes, preparatory classes, certifications, professional licensure preparatory classes, vehicle or equipment certification, Class A or B license fees, and renewal fees on such certifications and licenses. The cost to the City for the reimbursement shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per employee for a twelve (12) month period; and WHEREAS, the Educational Reimbursement Program, the City is invested in continuing to educate and develop its workforce and encourages training, self-improvement and personal development programs; and
WHEREAS, allowing student loans as a reimbursable expenditure would encourage staff to embark on the path of higher education to receive a Bachelor’s degree or continue their higher educational goals by obtaining a Master’s degree. It would promote longevity and reduce turn over as employees would keep taking advantage of this benefit by continuing their employment with the City. This also can be used as a marketing or incentive tool to encourage new employees to apply to the City and attract new and skills staff in this competitive job market.; and WHEREAS, according to the City of Coachella Human Resource Department, the City currently has 81 employees. Seventeen (17) have a Bachelor’s degree (20.9%), four (4) have a Master’s degree (4.9%) and one (1) has Doctorate degree (1.2%); and WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Mirage is the only other city in the Coachella Valley that offers a student loan debt assistance program with a max of $850/fiscal year.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that this City Council of the City of Coachella, California, as follows:

1. The recitals set forth hereinabove are true and correct; constitute the findings of the City Council; and are incorporated herewith by this reference.

Page 422 ends

Item 29.

Resolution No. 2024-14

Page 2 ends

2. Approve the modification to the City of Coachella Educational Reimbursement Program to include student loan debt reimbursement.

PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 24th day of April 2024. ___________________________________
Steven A. Hernandez
Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Angela M. Zepeda
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
___________________________________
Carlos Campos
City Attorney

Page 423 ends

Item 29.

Resolution No. 2024-14

Page 3 ends

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE

CITY OF COACHELLA
)
) ss.
)
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No. 2024-14 was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Coachella at a regular meeting thereof, held on the 24th day of April 2024 by the following vote of Council:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:
___________________________________
Delia Granados
Deputy City Clerk

Page 424 ends

Item 29.

CITY OF COACHELLA

EDUCATION REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM
The City is invested in continuing to educate and develop its workforce and encourages training, self-improvement and personal development programs.

What the City contributes:
$5,000 per employee, per twelve (12) month period (based on a fiscal year cycle). Employees serving a probationary period are not eligible for reimbursement.

Reimbursement:
• Tuition for continuing education in non-job related courses = 50% reimbursement.
• Tuition for classes in job related courses = 100% reimbursement. • Payment is based upon an employee receiving a grade of 2.0 or better.

The City will also reimburse employees 100% for job-related:
• College preparatory classes;
• Certifications;
• Professional licensure preparatory classes;
• Vehicle or equipment certification and/or Class A or B license fees, and renewal fees on such certifications and/or licenses.

Requirement:

Requests for reimbursement must be submitted and approved prior to enrolling in a course or applying for a certification, license or renewal.

Page 425 ends

Item 29.

Page 1 of 1 ends

Full-time Employee Benefits Summary
Plan Year: January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2027
** Below is a summary of the benefits provided for full-time employees.**

HEALTH & WELFARE BENEFITS

MEDICAL
The City contracts with CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) for our medical plans. Employees can choose from eight HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) and two PPO (Preferred Provider Organizations) plans. Coverage is available for employees and their eligible dependents, up to age 26.

What the City contributes:

Miscellaneous and Sanitary Employees bargaining unit (TEAMSTERS) and the Confidential Mid-Management Employees bargaining unit (TEAMSTERS):

Employee only – $805.26 per month
Two Party – $1,611.72 per month
Family – $2,095.23 per month
Any amount over what the City contributes for medical is the responsibility of the employee. If an employee chooses a health plan that is less than what the City contributes, they will not receive reimbursement for the difference.

Waiving Coverage: Employees who elect to waive medical coverage are eligible to receive $725.00 per month. Proof of duplicate coverage is required annually to be eligible to receive this benefit.

Coverage Begins: Employees have 60 days from the date of their initial appointment to enroll, or decline to enroll, themselves and all eligible family members. The effective date is the first day of the month after the enrollment form is turned in to Human Resources.

DENTAL
The City contracts with The Standard for our dental plan. They offer both an HMO (Direct Referral Dental Plan) and a PPO (Preferred Dentist Program) plan. Coverage is available for employees and their eligible dependents, up to age 26.

Page 426 ends

Item 29.

Page 2 of 2 ends

New Hires: Employees have 30 days from the date of their initial appointment to enroll, or decline to enroll, themselves and all eligible family members. The effective date is the first day of the month after the enrollment form is turned in to Human Resources.

What the City contributes:

The City pays 100% of the premium for all employees and their eligible dependents, up to age 26. Employees are not reimbursed for waiving coverage.

VISION
The City contracts with The Standard for our Vision VSP and EyeMed PPO plans.

Coverage is available for employees and their eligible dependents, up to age 26.

What the City contributes:

The City pays 100% of the premium for all employees and their eligible dependents, up to age 26.

Waiving Coverage:

Employees in the Miscellaneous and Mid-Management bargaining units who elect to waive coverage are eligible to receive reimbursement. Employees in the Management group do not receive reimbursement for waiving benefits. Proof of duplicate coverage is required annually to be eligible to receive this benefit.

LIFE INSURANCE
The City contracts with The Standard and pays 100% of the premium for basic term life insurance. Coverage is effective the first date of initial employment.

Coverage provided:

Miscellaneous and Sanitary Employees bargaining unit (TEAMSTERS) receive $150,000 of coverage.

Confidential Mid-Management Employees bargaining unit (TEAMSTERS) receive $150,000 of coverage.

Management employees receive - $150,000 of coverage (Group 1) $250,000 of coverage (Group II), as well as $2,000 Dependent Life Spouse coverage, and up to $1,000 Dependent Life Child coverage. (Please note that the Internal Revenue Service requires that coverage in excess of $50,000 must be included as income on the employee’s W-2. This amount is subject to withholding for Social Security and Medicare, but not income tax.)

SHORT/LONG TERM DISABILITY (STD/LTD)
The City contracts with The Standard to provide Short and Long Term Disability Insurance. The City pays 100% of the premium for Long Term Disability; STD is paid by the employee under the private plan. Coverage is effective the first date of initial

Page 427 ends

Item 29.

Page 3 of 3 ends

employment.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH & DISMEMBERMENT (AD&D)
The City contracts with The Standard to provide Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance. AD&D benefits pay for a covered accident that results in a loss of life, speech, hearing or sight, paralysis and other losses. The City pays 100% of the premium. Coverage is effective the first date of initial employment.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)
The City pays for an Employee Assistance Program through The Standard. An EAP is intended to help employees deal with personal or family problems that might adversely impact their job performance, health and well-being (e.g., marriage, relationship and family problems, problems at work, changes in mood, legal and financial issues, stress and anxiety, alcohol and drug dependency, identify theft, and health and wellness concerns).

RETIREMENT
The City contracts with CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) for our retirement benefits. The City does not pay into social security for full-time employees.

Retirement Formulas:

New Members:
2% @ 62.

Hired on or after January 1, 2013.

Pays a 7.75% member contribution.

Final compensation is based on a consecutive three-year period. 457 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN (Optional Retirement)
The Internal Revenue Service allows employees to contribute money into an optional retirement plan on a pre-tax basis via payroll deduction. You don’t pay income taxes on your contributions until you retire and/or begin to take payments from your account.

The City offers two companies to choose from - Nationwide Insurance and MissionSquare. The City does not match funds.
2024 Contribution Limits:

Annual Deferral - $23,000
Pre-Retirement Catch-Up - $30,500
Age 50 Catch-Up: $46,000 (If eligible)
FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA) SECTION 125
The Internal Revenue Service allows eligible employees to set aside a specific pre-tax dollar amount via payroll deduction for expenses not covered by your medical, dental and vision plans (deductibles, co-pays, certain over-the-counter items) and for dependent care expenses (daycare, before and after-school, day camp, elder care). By using this plan, you can save on average 20%-40% each year on these out-of-pocket expenses.

Page 428 ends

Item 29.

Page 4 of 4 ends

2024 Contribution Limits:

Health Care - $3,200
Dependent Care - $5,000

EDUCATION REIMBURSEMENT
The City is invested in continuing to educate and develop its workforce and encourages training, self-improvement and personal development programs.

What the City contributes:
$5,000 per employee per twelve (12) month period (based on fiscal year).

Reimbursement:

Tuition for continuing education in non-job related courses = 50% reimbursement Tuition for classes in job related courses = 100% reimbursement Payment is based upon an employee receiving a grade of 2.0 or better The City will also reimburse employees 100% for:

Job-related college preparatory classes
Certifications
Professional licensure preparatory classes
Vehicle or equipment certification and/or Class A or B license fees, and renewal fees on such certifications and/or licenses

SUPPLEMENTAL PLANS AVAILABLE
American Fidelity Assurance
Offers: Cancer, Life, Accident
The Standard
Offers: Life, Accident, Critical Illness coverage
Texas Life
Offers: Life
All benefits are governed by the actual benefit plans, which have precedence over the information reported in this summary.

Page 429 ends

Item 29.

CITY OF COACHELLA

EDUCATION REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST (FORM A)
(Requests for reimbursement must be submitted and approved PRIOR to enrolling in a course or applying for a certification, license or renewal)

NAME OF COURSE/
CERTIFICATE/LICENSE:

ATTENDANCE
DATES:

COST OF

TUITION

COST OF
BOOKS
OTHER
TOTAL
COST:

Please explain how this course(s) will enhance your job related performance:
____________________________________ __________________ Employee Signature Date
A. FOR DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR:

Approved: Yes ______ No ______ (if no, state reason) ____________________________________ _____________________________________ ___________________________ Department Director/Supervisor Signature Date
B. FOR HUMAN RESOURCES
Request is for what Fiscal Year?
Has employee received
reimbursement previously during
this Fiscal Year?
Yes _____
Amount:$__________
No: ______
Amount eligible to be reimbursed
for this request:

Human Resources Signature:

Date:

C. FOR CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
____________________________________ ___________________________ City Manager Signature Date
EMPLOYEE NAME:

DATE:

DEPARTMENT:

Page 430 ends

Item 29.

CITY OF COACHELLA

REQUEST FOR PAYMENT (FORM B)

EDUCATION REIMBURSEMENT

NAME OF COURSE/CERTIFICATE/
LICENSE:

DATE COMPLETED: TOTAL COST

____________________________________ __________________ Employee Signature Date
Attach the following backup documentation to this form:
a) copy of course(s) grade report/certificate of completion/license b) copy of payment receipts for amount requested
c) copy of the approved Education Reimbursement Request form DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR:

DATE:

DEPARTMENT:

HUMAN RESOURCES ONLY
Grades/Receipts Submitted: Yes _____ No ______
Total Amount To Be Reimbursed: $
What Fiscal Year is this for?
Account Number:

Human Resources Signature:

Date:

Page 431 ends

Item 29.

CITY OF COACHELLA

EDUCATION REIMBURSEMENT INSTRUCTIONS

1. Requests for reimbursement must be submitted and approved PRIOR to enrolling in a course or applying for a certification, license or renewal).

2. Complete the Education Reimbursement Request (Form A) and submit it to your Department Director or Supervisor for approval. Provide the course/certificate/license description, date, and tuition/fee information, and explain how this course will enhance your job related performance. Sign and date the form.

3. If approved, the Department Director or Supervisor signs the form and forwards it to Human Resources to confirm eligibility for reimbursement.

Human Resources will then send the form to the City Manager for final approval.

4. The employee will be notified when the request has been approved and a copy of the approved Education Reimbursement Request form will be provided to the employee.

5. After completion of the course/certificate and/or once license is obtained or renewed, the employee must submit the Request for Payment (Form B) to their Department Director or Supervisor for approval, along with the following backup documentation:
a. copy of course(s) grade report/certificate of completion/license b. copy of payment receipts for amount requested
c. copy of the approved Education Reimbursement Request form

6. The Department Director or Supervisor will forward the Request for Payment form, along with all backup documentation, to Human Resources for processing. Payment will be made through Accounts Payable. **Probationary employees are not eligible for education reimbursement.

Page 432 ends

Item 29.

Coachella City CouncilApril 24, 2024

Coachella City Council
April 24, 2024