Riverside County is set to hold five public workshops this month — one in each supervisorial district — in hopes of getting more public input on the budget process.
“I think it’s very important for us to hear from the community about the budget decisions we’re making,” County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said. “When you boil it all down, the county government works for our residents, for the people who live here, who work here, who enjoy life here, and so we think the best decisions are the ones that are informed by those that have to live with the outcomes.”
During these workshops, members of the public will be able to learn about the county’s budget process, including where the county’s revenue comes from and how that money is currently spent, and provide feedback to their elected officials about what they feel the county should be prioritizing this budget season.
“I am excited we are doing new things this year to increase outreach to community members during the budget process,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in a release from the county. “For the first time, we will be bringing these discussions to our communities, in all five supervisorial districts of Riverside County.”
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The workshops are just the latest way that the county is hoping to increase public input in the budget planning process. At the end of last month, the county closed its public survey that asked residents how they would prioritize the county’s budget.
According to Van Wagenen, almost 24,000 people responded to the survey, which was available in both English and Spanish, with their ideas for the county’s budget.
He said input from both the survey and these community workshops would be factored into the county’s recommended budget, which will be presented to the board in May with public hearings set for June.
“We’re able to take the feedback we get from [the survey], and then we will take the feedback we get from these five separate community workshops to help inform the decisions we’re making,” he said.
Details for the workshops can be found below:
District 1: Supervisor Jose Medina will host the first workshop at the County Administrative Center Board Chambers, located at 4080 Lemon St. in Riverside on April 16 from 5:30-7 p.m.
District 2: Supervisor Karen Spiegel will host at the City of Corona Council Chambers, located at 400 S. Vicentia Ave. in Corona on April 17 from 6:30-8 p.m.
District 3: Supervisor Chuck Washington will hold a workshop at the French Valley Library, located at 31526 Skyview Road in Winchester on April 30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
District 4: Supervisor V. Manuel Perez will host at the Classic Club, located at 75-200 Classic Club Blvd. in Palm Desert on April 29 from 5:30-7 p.m.
District 5: Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez will host a Telephone Town Hall meeting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. with registration requested by 2:30 p.m. on April 18 at tthm.com/riverside.
All workshops will have Spanish interpretation services available. More information can be found here on the county’s website.
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