Indio council wants to explore flying additional flags at city facilities

The Indio City Council will explore a policy for flying additional flags at city facilities to recognize various communities throughout the year.

Mayor Pro Tem Waymond Fermon requested the discussion at the council meeting on Wednesday. He said his interest is “rooted in inclusivity and representation at various times of the year.”

“I believe it’s important that we recognize people in the community that we live in and that contribute to our city,” he said. “This includes the LGBT community, the [POW/MIA] flag, the Mexican flag, the Canadian flag.”

The request came just one day after Palm Desert City Council voted to continue displaying banners on their City Hall and declined to revise the city’s resolution on diversity. That proposal by Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem Joe Pradetto sparked intense backlash from the LGBTQ community and drew more than 150 people to council chambers with nearly four hours of public testimony.

Mayor Elaine Holmes said it was important that people know Indio is an inclusive and welcoming city, but wondered if there were other ways to show support.

“I like to keep the three flags, the American flag, the state flag and the city flag up, and I would love to have a conversation around what other ways can we illustrate that we embrace every member of our community at any time.”

Councilmember Glenn Miller said he too would prefer to keep what they already have, “Keep it simple, so that you’re not going back and forth between different individual flags.”

The council was in agreement that the issue should come back for a formal discussion.

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