Riverside council adopts biennial budget of $1.45 billion per year

The Riverside City Council on Tuesday approved a balanced biennial budget of $1.45 billion each year.

Officials highlighted these areas of financial focus — public safety; housing and homelessness, specifically investments in affordable housing, supportive services and homelessness prevention efforts; infrastructure maintenance, improvement and expansion; significant budget increases for road maintenance; and investments in the city’s economy, job creation and business development.

“This budget reflects a balanced approach to providing services our residents have made clear they want, while also addressing challenges we face as a city,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement. “We welcome the accountability that comes with these increases and appreciate our residents’ expectations for responsible fiscal stewardship.”

City officials described these key expenditures:

• Replacing Riverside Police Department radios for $5.3 million because the existing radios are nearing the end of their lifespan. “The cost will be partially offset by $2 million projected from the sale of two surplus police helicopters,” according to a city statement.
• Adding staff members to the Riverside Fire Department’s arson program “to improve the department’s ability to investigate and prosecute arson cases,” officials said. The fire department also received an extra $9 million to replace vehicles and equipment, increasing that spending to $30.4 million through 2029.
• Enhancing the Community and Economic Development Department’s One-Stop Shop with $1.2 million in software upgrades to improve customer service and streamline the permit application process. The council also approved funding for an Economic Impact Study and Strategic Plan, a Sports Attraction Study and Convention Center Expansion Study.
• “Expanding staff at Library branches across the city to facilitate program expansions, enhance patron support and meet technology needs; and adding $500,000 for materials, increasing the per capita budget from $1.23 to $2.80, which remains below the $5.31 statewide average,” officials said.
• “Moving the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division from the CEDD to the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department to further promote arts and culture, and enhance the quality of life; expand recreation and aquatics programs throughout the City; and improve the landscaping and maintenance of the City’s 68 parks and 16 facilities.”
• Devoting $2.3 million to landscaping improvements on 450 acres of “rights-of-way” spread over 81 square miles. Sites targeted for enhanced landscaping include freeway on- off-ramps, historical roadways, the downtown pedestrian mall, “landscape maintenance districts,” citrus groves, fountains and “150,000 street trees.”
• Establishing a Marketing and Communications Department and a $300,000 Visit Riverside campaign to promote tourism and “create a distinctive City brand.”
• Putting an additional $5 million each year into infrastructure upgrades for a total street maintenance budget of $25.6 million annually, increasing spending for facilities capital maintenance, investing in technology upgrades and funding a replacement plan for city vehicles that aren’t used for public safety work.

The council’s approval ends a nine-month budget process that started in October, when officials first sought public input by mailing a postcard to residents, posting notices on the city’s social media accounts and inviting residents to budget workshops. The public meetings were dubbed “Your Money, Your Voice” and garnered feedback on services, programs and facilities city residents thought were most important. The city also conducted online surveys and a more extensive Quality of Life survey.

“The budget is based on prudent financial planning and innovative strategies to address critical needs, strengthen the local government and position the City to catalyze transformation in the Riverside community and economy,” according to the city statement. The budget covers the cost of city staff time for studying ways to maximize revenue and recover overhead expenses through measures such as the recent fees and charges study.

Officials said the budget is bolstered by robust property tax revenue that resulted following recent increases in assessed values, in addition to new revenue sources including those from the March JPA revenue-sharing agreement and cannabis tax.

“This budget reflects hundreds of hours of work by the City Council and City staff to capture our community’s desires, aspirations and values,” City Manager Mike Futrell said in a statement. “It is a systemically balanced budget year over year while allowing robust investments in public safety, housing, homelessness response, park and library improvements, funding for the arts and community events — everything that makes Riverside a great place to live, work, and raise a family. This budget reflects Riverside’s strong economy and positions us well for the future.”

Officials said the budget will enable the city to keep providing essential services and buffer against potential economic concerns in the future as rising retirement costs, ongoing maintenance and infrastructure needs and increasing personnel costs remain significant fiscal challenges for Riverside and cities nationwide.