Fire Chief Michael Contreras Presents CCFE’s 2027–2029 Strategic Plan to City Council and Community

Cathedral City Fire and EMS launches a community-driven planning process - built in-house, in English and Spanish, with adoption targeted for November 2026

Fire Chief Michael A. Contreras went before the Cathedral City City Council on Wednesday, July 22, to introduce the framework for Cathedral City Fire and EMS's next three-year Strategic Plan - a roadmap the department is calling "Then · Now · What's Next."

The message was direct: after a period of measurable growth, the department isn't planning its way out of a hole. It's planning its way forward.

"This is not a recovery plan," Contreras told the Council. "It is a growth plan."

Where the Department Starts From

Chief Contreras opened with the operational floor the next plan will build on - a record of documented, externally validated results from the 2023-2026 planning cycle, all of which were achieved ahead of schedule:

• CPSE accreditation. In April 2025, CCFE became the only accredited fire agency in the Coachella Valley through the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
• ISO Class 3 to Class 2. An improved Public Protection Classification that carries potential insurance savings citywide.
• Full staffing. For the first time in more than a decade, the department is at 60 sworn and 4 civilian personnel.
• Ambulance program doubled. From two medic units to four, with no General Fund impact.
• Turnout time down 42%. About 44 seconds faster per call, now at 1:10.
• Training hours up 138%. From 10,936 hours in 2022 to 25,980 in 2024.
• Tropical Storm Hilary. More than 60 rescues with zero casualties.

Faster Response, Rising Demand

The presentation paired those milestones with three years of performance data - and the trend lines moved in the right direction at the same time call volume climbed.

Between 2023 and 2025, total response time at the 90th percentile improved from 9:25 to 8:21 - one minute and four seconds faster, an 11.3% improvement. Turnout time dropped 15 seconds over the same period.

Meanwhile, demand grew. Annual calls for service rose 10.7%, from 7,293 to 8,075, with EMS calls up 18.8%.

That combination - getting faster while getting busier - was the Chief's central argument for building the next plan now rather than later. As he framed it to Council: this is the case for planning ahead rather than catching up.

An Ambulance Program That Pays for Itself

Contreras also updated Council on the department's EMS program, which closed the fiscal year ahead of budget for another consecutive year.

The expansion from two ambulances to four was accomplished without drawing on the General Fund - the program is funded by the revenue it generates. Ambulance billing again exceeded its budgeted target in FY 2025-26, collections stayed strong and steady through all four quarters, and the department's collection performance remains healthy by industry standards for fire-based EMS.

The practical translation: more medic units on the street, faster ambulance response, and no added cost to Cathedral City taxpayers.

Demand kept climbing alongside it. Through June 30, EMS calls were up 2.5% over the same period last year, and transports rose 12.3% - with a growing share of calls resulting in a transport to the hospital.

Why Now

Chief Contreras identified three converging factors that make this the right window for a new plan:

Community growth. Cathedral City and the broader Coachella Valley continue to grow - residential, commercial, and seasonal. Service delivery needs to be measured against three-to-five-year growth projections, not against the city as it was when the last plan was written.

Budget cycle alignment. The FY 2027 budget cycle is the natural window to convert priorities into funded initiatives - capital, personnel, and operating requests backed by an adopted plan rather than developed in isolation.

Operational maturity. With accreditation in place, ISO Class 2 achieved, full staffing reached, and the ambulance program at scale, the previous plan's goals are complete. The question now is where the department goes next.

One detail drew notice: the entire process is being conducted in-house with existing staff - no consultant contract, no supplemental appropriation.

The Community Already Spoke

Phase 1 of the process - external engagement - has been underway since April, and Contreras emphasized that it was built to reach the whole community, not just the residents who already show up.

Outreach was conducted in both English and Spanish through community surveys, in-person and virtual public meetings, and focus groups with neighborhood and business groups. It leaned on partnerships the department has spent years building: the Senior Center, Boys & Girls Club, Rotary Club, College of the Desert, CERT, and CCFE's CPR and Stop the Bleed programs.

"We were proud of the results," Contreras said of the department's recent record, "but even more humbled by the community's trust."

A Fourteen-Step Model

The plan follows an established fire service planning framework organized into four movements - Listen, Analyze, Build, and Commit - covering everything from multilingual community feedback and a revisit of the department's mission, vision, and values, to internal and external SWOT analysis, identification of critical service gaps, and the definition of SMART, budget-tied goals with named quarterly owners.

Every program in the department is represented. As the Chief put it: nothing is written in a back office.

Five Priority Investment Areas

Chief Contreras laid out the five areas where the department expects to concentrate its investment over the next three years:

Apparatus and Fleet - A funded, phased replacement schedule covering engines, the four medic units, the water tender, and reserve apparatus. Critically, the schedule is built around 18-to-36-month manufacturer lead times, meaning the department has to order well before it needs the vehicle.

Training and Development - Building a structured, measurable training division that supports NFPA and ISO compliance, meets CPSE accreditation requirements, and prepares personnel for promotion to Engineer, Captain, and Battalion Chief.

Technology and Data - Modernizing CAD, records management, and analytics, building on Tablet Command, PSAC radio integration, and the EOC upgrade. The plan also calls for a KPI dashboard to support Council and budget reporting.

Personnel and Succession - Sustaining full staffing, developing the company-officer pipeline, formalizing senior-rank succession, and aligning department capacity with the growth of the ambulance program.

Expanded Response Capabilities - Growing specialty response to match community needs - swiftwater, technical rescue, and hazmat - building on the $975,000 AFG regional task force training grant.

Tying it together, Contreras returned to a discipline the plan applies across all five: every area ties to a budget line. No initiative without a goal, and no goal without a measure.

Each area becomes a set of specific initiatives with measurable goals and budget-aligned tasks during Phase 3.

Built to Drive a Budget, Not Sit on a Shelf

Every Phase 3 initiative will pair with a budget-line narrative for the FY 2027 submission cycle, organized into three categories:

• Capital asks - apparatus replacement scheduling, technology infrastructure (CAD/RMS), and facility needs aligned with growth
• Personnel asks - documented growth triggers, succession planning, and training officer capacity
• Operating asks - training contracts, technology licensing and maintenance, fleet maintenance projections, and federal grant match for AFG, SAFER, and FEMA programs

The plan becomes the formal justification document behind every capital, personnel, and operating request from the Fire Department - reviewed by Council through normal budget deliberations.

Owned, Not Filed

Perhaps the most pointed section of the presentation addressed what happens after adoption. Six accountability mechanisms take effect the day the Council adopts the plan:

• A quarterly internal scorecard distributed to all personnel
• A designated Strategic Plan Coordinator at the command-staff level
• Division ownership of each objective, linked to performance evaluation
• Annual full review of goals, timelines, and priorities
• Trigger-based review on major growth, budget, or operational events
• Public reporting - the published plan plus quarterly progress reports to Council

Monthly division check-ins, quarterly command reviews, and an annual plan review are built into the model.

What Happens Next

Contreras was explicit that the July 22 presentation carried no fiscal impact. The process runs in-house within the adopted budget, and individual initiatives will come to Council through the normal FY 2027 budget process.

"We Want to Build It Together"

The Chief closed with an invitation rather than a request.

"We don't want to build the future alone," he told the Council. "We want to build it together."

Community input will continue to shape the plan through adoption: feedback informs future goals, prioritizes programs and services, and guides what comes next.

Residents with questions or input can reach Fire Chief Michael A. Contreras at [email protected] or 760-770-8200.

About Cathedral City Fire and EMS

Established in 1988, Cathedral City Fire and EMS is an internationally accredited agency through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International and holds an ISO Public Protection Classification of Class 2 - recognitions that place the department among the top tier of fire and emergency service providers in the nation. Under the leadership of Fire Chief Michael A. Contreras, CCFE continues to set the standard for professional, community-centered emergency response in the Coachella Valley.