Joint Strategic Planning 2025-26

The City made steady progress on all of our strategic goals in 2025, including:

• Safeguarding the Community: Indian Wells introduced a new motorcycle officer to address traffic enforcement in the community, approved a new fire staffing model at our local fire station to ensure a dedicated Fire Captain is dispatched to each service call to increase patient evaluation, efficiency, operational oversight and safety and remains committed to providing resources to residents through emergency preparedness backpack sand other initiatives.
• Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainability: To ensure fiscal stability, the City maintains transparency in our budget process while actively securing external grant funding to fuel our community’s infrastructure and growth. The City was awarded over $8.2 million in grants in FY 2025-26. 
• Encourage Development and Tourism: Indian Wells has welcomed new executive leadership across our resort partners, bringing fresh expertise to enhance our world-class offerings and drive local economic impact. 
• Investing in Infrastructure and Amenities: The City completed a multitude of infrastructure projects this year to increase resident safety and overall satisfaction, including improving the intersection at Miles Avenue and Washington Street by adding an extended right-turn lane and reshaping and enlarging the corner for the right turn from southbound Washington Street to westbound Miles Avenue, repaving local roads and more. For FY 2026-30, the City has set aside $69,010,876 for Capital Improvement Projects.
• Enhancing Quality of Life: Recent upgrades include new offerings under the Residence Benefit Card program, which features a new virtual card system and physical card for purchase.
• Housing Authority: The City remains dedicated to providing high-quality affordable and senior housing at Mountain View Villas and Indian Wells Villas. We collaborate closely with organizations such as Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), Housing First, FIND Food Bank, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Martha’s Village & Kitchen to deliver a comprehensive network of services that enhance the well-being of our entire community. Indian Wells has committed over $500,000 in FY 2025-26 to support nonprofit organizations delivering essential services throughout the Coachella Valley.
• Indian Wells Golf Resort: Following a nine-month renovation, the Players Course has reopened with enhanced playability and safety features. This investment, in addition to Kestrel Kitchen + Lounge, a local favorite that continues to receive accolades, elevates the golfer experience and is projected to drive significant revenue growth in the years ahead. 2026 is also set to bring the improved Shots in the Night putting course. 
• Various Other City Strategies and Initiatives: Indian Wells continues to work on other initiatives to benefit the community beyond the identified goals.

If you have questions, feel free to call (760) 346-2489 or visit us at City Hall.

Over the past quarter, the City has made significant progress across all eight strategic goal areas, including completing nearly 28% of the priorities set for year one.

• Safeguarding the Community: The City enhanced emergency preparedness by expanding partnerships for disaster response, improved the police deployment model with the introduction of an additional motorcycle traffic officer and introduced new measures to strengthen community safety.
• Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainability: To ensure stability and sustainability, the City adopted new reserve policies, pursued grant funding opportunities, partnered with the City of Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage on projects to expand fiscal efficiency and maintained disciplined long-term financial planning.
•  Indian Wells Golf Resort: The Golf Resort is continually evolving into a premier destination. Upcoming improvements include the reopening of the Players Course, enhancements to the Shots in the Night experience, the addition of public art in Kestrel and discussions with the LPGA about hosting a major tournament.
• Investing in Infrastructure and Amenities: Major progress was made on infrastructure projects, such as the repaving of Miles Avenue, traffic circulation improvements along Washington Street, nearly completed designs to improve the Whitewater Channel and the Safer Streets initiative.
• Encourage Development and Tourism: Landmark projects, like the Cocun Wellness Resort and continued implementation of the City’s General Plan, are shaping the future of responsible growth and economic vitality.
• Housing Authority: We advanced multiple housing initiatives, including the implementation of the sixth Cycle Housing Element, initiated a comprehensive zoning code update and developed strategies to extend affordability covenants at the Indian Wells Villas and Mountain View Villas, preserving low rents at our Housing Authority properties.
• Enhancing Quality of Life: From expanding community events and resident benefits to launching new holiday decorations and branding initiatives, we remain focused on enriching our residents’ daily experiences.
• Various Other City Strategies and Initiatives: The City Council continues to work with local, state and federal leaders to find solutions to improve the region’s air quality (dust) and pursue proactive legislative advocacy efforts.

The full Quarterly Goal Update is available at CityofIndianWells.org/StrategicPlanUpdate. Thirty-two of the remaining 39 priorities are currently in various stages of progress, with the majority of those anticipated to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026.

With the summer’s slower pace, the City often takes the opportunity to complete scheduled projects while many residents are away on vacation, helping to minimize major traffic delays and disruptions to the broader community.

We are continually working on all our goals, with several initiatives aimed at safeguarding the community. Recently, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) upgraded the City of Indian Wells from a Class 3 to a Class 2 rating under the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS), as well as the Public Protection Classification (PPC). This dual upgrade highlights our commitment to maintaining high safety standards across the community, prioritizing security for residents and visitors. As a result, residents may experience a decrease in insurance rates.

To further enhance safety, the City has approved an additional motor officer and two sergeants to the Indian Wells Police Department. The City Council has heard from many residents asking the Council to enhance traffic enforcement in the community. This additional motor officer will be dedicated to Indian Wells for traffic enforcement. The two sergeants will be shared with Rancho Mirage, allowing for cost savings while improving resident safety through increased coverage.

As we prepare for National Emergency Preparedness Month in September, the City is ramping up emergency preparedness efforts for both City staff and residents. All City employees are undergoing additional training and certification courses to ensure they are prepared for emergencies. To help residents prepare themselves, Indian Wells will host a series of courses titled “12 Steps of Emergency Preparedness” over the next month, alongside another Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training and the return of our Emergency Preparedness Backpack sale.

In addition to physical health and safety, Indian Wells is actively working to continue enhancing the community’s fiscal health. At the end of Fiscal Year 2024-25, the City continued to exemplify responsible financial planning, achieving three consecutive years of operational surplus. Furthermore, the Indian Wells Golf Resort is thriving, showing robust growth and stability. The ongoing renovation of the Players Course, which is under budget and scheduled for completion this November, is set to improve the Golf Resort’s financial success further and elevate the golf experience for all.

As you may know, our City Council has begun its work on a major milestone: the annual strategic planning process. On April 17, the City Council gathered with the community to establish priorities and make plans for the future of our city. By setting goals, our Council and staff can lead a more focused and effective strategy for innovation.

Ultimately, the City has identified the following priorities:

• Safeguarding our Community: Provide enhanced public safety, prevention, preparedness and emergency response programs.
• Ensuring Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainability: Foster fiscal health through disciplined long-term planning, conservative budgeting practices, heightened efficiency, increased revenue and cost recovery.
• Encouraging Development and Tourism: Pursue economic development initiatives that attract and retain businesses, provide a strong, diverse local economy, address affordable housing needs and enhance Indian Wells as the premier tourism destination.
• Investing in Infrastructure and Amenities: Promote effective use of existing facilities through maintenance and repair and plan for future facilities, amenities and infrastructure to benefit the community. As is happening now with the Players Course redesign, the City will continue to invest in the Indian Wells Golf Resort to bring a memorable experience to all.
• Enhancing the Quality of Life: Actively seek opportunities to maintain and enrich Indian Wells’ quality of life.
• Various Other City Strategies and Initiatives: Development of projects and programs that further the City’s mission statement, improve City operations, etc., that do not clearly fit within other goals.

Discussions of these priorities spanned numerous projects and initiatives, especially critical priorities like public safety, where the City Council committed to expanding community emergency preparedness, using technology to improve fire and medical response times and conduct a study to identify recommendations to improve Indian Wells cellular coverage.

Other key initiatives focused on enhancing residents’ quality of life. Notably, the City Council aims to increase the number of benefits available to residents who subscribe to our Resident Benefit Card Program, including additional community events and activities, and identifying new partnerships with our local businesses community to provide residents with discounts for their patronage. Furthermore, the City will continue to push forward on key Capital Improvement Projects, having secured over $6 million in federal and state grants for projects like the Whitewater Channel Lining Project, Miles Avenue Rehabilitation and Warner Trail Improvements Phase 2.

To support these ambitious projects and programs and invest funds back into Indian Wells, encouraging and developing new tourism attractions and resorts remains a priority. As part of this, the Council identified potential opportunities to bring more visitors to Indian Wells, whether it is an immersive experience at the Golf Resort, public art installations, an exhibit showcasing our city’s rich history or the introduction of a tennis or golf museum near the Tennis Garden. The Council also recommended the completion of a new wellness resort at Miles and Highway 111 or the expansion of our existing resorts for both residents and visitors.