City Clerk

The City Clerk’s Office safeguards the integrity of Palm Desert’s democratic process and provides open, accurate, and accessible information to the public, City Council, City staff, and local, state, and national agencies.

The Clerk's Office ensures compliance with key state laws, including the Ralph M. Brown Act (open meetings), the California Public Records Act (public access to records), and the Political Reform Act of 1974 (conflicts of interest).

Appointed by the City Manager, the City Clerk oversees:

Preparing and maintaining agendas, minutes, and official records
Administering municipal elections
Serving as Secretary to the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency, and to the Housing and Financing Authorities
Coordinating appointments to advisory bodies

The City Clerk’s Office is committed to transparency, accountability, and public service, ensuring that residents and stakeholders can fully participate in the civic life of Palm Desert.

Resources

Statements of Economic Interest

The City of Palm Desert provides public access to Statements of Economic Interest filed under the local conflict of interest code, including those submitted by board, commission, committee, and task force members, as well as designated staff, through an online portal. To request unredacted copies of these statements, please contact the City Clerk's Office.

As of January 1, 2025, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) requires Government Code 87200 filers—including City Council members, Planning Commissioners, the City Manager, City Attorney, and Finance Director/Treasurer—to file directly with the FPPC. These statements can be accessed through the FPPC’s website.

Palm Desert Redistricting

On January 25, 2024, the Palm Desert City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1406 establishing five single-member council districts. The incumbent council members will continue to serve and complete their existing terms.

The transition to single-member council districts will commence with the General Municipal Election of November 5, 2024, for the election of three members of City Council representing Districts 1, 2, and 3. The transition will be complete following the November 2026 election for two members of City Council representing Districts 4 and 5. You can learn more about the redistricting process by visiting www.redistrictpd.org, including an interactive map where you can locate your district.

Click here to access the District Locator Interactive Map

Online Records

Records Requests

Public Official Appointments

In 2012, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) amended Regulation 18705.5 concerning appointments of a legislative body's members to positions on governing boards of other agencies, such as the Coachella Valley Association of Governments' Executive Committee. The public officials who serve in these other positions sometimes receive additional compensation for their service.

FPPC regulations formerly provided that any person who could appoint himself/herself to one of these positions had a conflict of interest if the appointee would receive $250 or more within any 12-month period.

The FPPC has amended the applicable regulation to permit a person to participate in a decision where he or she could be appointed to an external position and receive $250 or more within a 12-month period, provided that certain conditions are followed, including completion of a form (Form 806) documenting the positions.

Agency Report of Public Official Appointments

Click Here to Access Form 806 - Report of Public Official Appointments

SB 272 Enterprise Systems

Approved on October 11, 2015, SB 272 adds a section to the California Public Records Act requiring local agencies to create a catalog of Enterprise Systems by July 1, 2016 with annual updates.

A software application or computer system that collects, stores, exchanges and analyzes information that the agency uses that is both of the following:

A multi-departmental system or a system that contains information collected about the public.
A system that serves as an original source of data within an agency.

An Enterprise System does not include any of the following:

Information Technology security systems, including firewalls and other cybersecurity systems.
Physical access control systems, employee identification management systems, video monitoring and other physical control systems.
Infrastructure and mechanical control systems, including those that control or manage street lights, electrical, natural gas or water or sewer functions.
Systems related to 911 dispatch and operation or emergency services.
Systems that would be restricted from disclosure by Section 6254.19.
The specific records that the information technology system collects, stores, exchanges or analyzes.

To view a list of City of Palm Desert Enterprise Systems, please see the list below.

Requirements

1. Create a catalog of enterprise systems, containing:

Current system vendor
Current system product
System’s purpose
A description of categories or types of data
The department that is the prime custodian of the data
The frequency that system data is collected
The frequency that system data is updated

2. To make the catalog publicly available upon request

3. To post the catalog in a prominent location on the agency’s website

Exception

If the public interest served by not disclosing the information described clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure, the local agency may instead provide a system name, brief title or identifier of the system.

City of Palm Desert Enterprise Systems (Generated September 2023)

ArcGIS

Vendor: ESRI
Purpose: Geographic Information System
Data Category: Geographic Information Systems
Custodian: Information Systems Department
Collection Frequency: As Needed
Update Frequency: As Needed

Exchange

Vendor: Microsoft
Purpose: Email, calendar, contacts
Data Category: Email System
Custodian: Information Systems Department
Collection Frequency: Daily
Update Frequency: Daily

Finance Enterprise

Vendor: CentralSquare
Purpose: Finance, Payroll, Human Resources System
Data Category: Financial System
Custodian: Finance and Human Resources Departments
Collection Frequency: Not Specified
Update Frequency: Not Specified

Claim Against the City Form

To orderly and efficiently process your claim, please complete the claim form online. Incomplete claim forms may result in delays in claim processing. Be sure your claim is against the City of Palm Desert, California, and not another public entity as this may impact your ability to file a claim with the appropriate agency due to filing deadlines.

Please click here to submit a City of Palm Desert claim form.

Accessibility Assistance
The City of Palm Desert is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website for all users. If you require assistance accessing information on this site, please email ada@palmdesert.gov.

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City of Palm Desert Enterprise Systems (Generated September 2023)