Indio approves $100,000 contract for downtown ambassador program

The ambassador program came to life after city officials studied other cities to see how they created a partnership between ambassadors and police to improve safety.

The Indio City Council approved a $100,000 annual contract to continue the Downtown Ambassador Program that city officials say has taken some of the stress off of the city’s police department.

Miguel Ramirez-Cornejo, Director of Economic Development, said at last week’s City Council meeting that the program has been successful in reducing the burden on the Indio Police Department, minimizing calls to police to one or two times a weekend when ambassadors are deployed downtown.

“Just having a person there, it does alleviate the stress from our police department,” Councilmember Waymond Fermon said. “An officer might get a call, might have to come down then they have to generate reports, and it takes them from other more pressing issues that we have.”

Tony Romero, the downtown ambassador, has spent time building rapport with the community, Fermon said, even offering rides on his golf cart.

“Tony is a staple in the community,” Ramirez-Cornejo said during the council meeting. He said when he tells folks to move alone or stop causing trouble, people respect him.

The program launched two years ago as part of broader efforts to establish Downtown Indio as a vibrant destination that engages the community and attracts visitors. Part of the idea was to have visible security or representatives that help the public feel safe and also allows them to be proactive rather than reactive to problems.

Ramirez-Cornejo said recently someone downtown was walking around with an airsoft gun that looked like a real gun. Even though the Indio Police Department still had to be called, Ramirez-Cornejo said having Romero there helped diffuse tension.

Councilmember Benjamin Guitron helped develop the original concept. He noticed a need for more help when the city first began big investments in the downtown area.

“I stressed to the city manager at the time…the police can’t [patrol everything] on their own,” he said. Guitron said he looked at similar implementations of ambassadors in cities like San Diego and Los Angeles where ambassadors work in partnership with the police.

“Bringing in a security service that would be the eyes and ears and report things just from Highway 111 to Indio Boulevard to Oasis Street to Jackson and community parks and city facilities, and obviously that’s worked well because it has helped,” he said.

The ambassador currently works Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight, wearing a distinctive white polo shirt and brown khakis while using a city-provided golf cart. The program operates at a rate of $37 per hour for unarmed security officers.