The Riverside City Council Tuesday voted 6-1 to adopt the biennial budget. Councilmember Philip Falcone was the sole dissenter.
The council approved a $1.57 billion total budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, and a $1.59 billion budget for the year after that. The budgets include the city’s operating budget and planned capital projects.
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Deputy Finance Director Sergio Aguilar said the adopted budget, an increase from this year’s amended $1.53 billion budget, showed the city was still in a stable position, but needed to curb spending and make cuts in order to address multimillion dollar deficits in the city’s general and Measure Z funds.
According to Aguilar, the general fund is facing a $27 million deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and a $34 million deficit the following fiscal year. Measure Z, which voters recently overwhelmingly rejected increasing and extending, is set to face a $9 million deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and a $12.4 million deficit the following year.
“Finance did collaborate with city departments and the city manager’s office to identify cost reductions in two steps,” Aguilar told the council at the June 23 council meeting. “One being, reviewing expenditures that historically have generated savings, and then two, evaluating areas where reductions could be implemented without significantly impacting city services.”
Aguilar said the projected general fund deficits were due to a mix of slowing tax revenues, rising personnel costs and other inflationary pressures. Measure Z’s shortfall, on the other hand, is due to revenue decreases compounded with expenditure growth, especially with increasing public safety personnel costs.
“I’ve been here through many budgets, and I’ve been here through some pretty lean times, and where some very difficult questions and decisions had to be made,” Councilmember Jim Perry said. “This is the first time that I’ve just really had some really hard questions in my mind on the validity and how strong this budget’s going to be.”
Perry, who is set to retire next month, said he believed the upcoming fiscal year looked strong, but felt that if it didn’t go according to plan, it would impact the city’s long-term strategy. It was a concern shared among a number of the council members.
“I gave the budget a B for maintaining services … but a C-plus for addressing the long-term structural challenges that we’re facing,” Councilmember Sean Mill said. He also noted the need for a greater emphasis on economic development to bring in additional funds going forward.
As part of the budget, staff recommended several cost-saving measures such as keeping 38 positions vacant, cutting down on general fund and Measure Z spending, increasing user fees for a variety of city services and using one-time surplus funds.
“The next several years, with the budget, we do have cost containment issues,” acting City Manager Edward Enriquez told the council. “But I think this is the best budget we’re going to get right now as we work through the unknowns of what’s going to happen tomorrow economically.”
Falcone, who last month said he would not support a budget that made cuts to public works, remained opposed to the budget presented by city staff.
“Any cut to public works and general services is an absolute non-negotiable,” he said. “So I won’t be supporting it.”
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Despite fiscal constraints the City Council voted for 20 percent plus increases in their budget, that of the Mayor and City Clerk’s costing over $2 million. As public servant leaders, I challenged them to be the example and instead make a cut to their budgets. They chose to feather their own nests. Leadership should set an example for the City staff, instead their decision reflects their values. Instead we leave Riversiders in danger and short change our public works repairs.We need leaders, not self-indulgent lords on our City Council.
The City Council has been on a spending binge. It voted in $45 million for the renovation of the Museum of Riverside and $62 million for a new police headquarters downtown using Measure Z dollars and now nearly $3 million in lobby devotions. That’s 5 years of the proposed Measure Z that voters resoundingly voted down.
How are these higher priorities than staffing our fire department and creating adequate stations to address response times?
It should be noted for 10 years the City Council has kept Museum of Riverside on staff at a cost of over $15 million. Why is the Museum run by our City government. Where is the leverage and philanthropic support for this endeavor? Why aren’t those who strongly support this Museum and Riverside history being asked to fund it as they do our non-profit partners who support individuals with essential needs-food, shelter, heslthcare, etc?
Why did the City not find an alternative spacious and affordable spot in city land inventories for the Police Department facility and allow the current site to be used for commercial development and generating tax revenue downtown and amateur money? Why not move to temporary headquarters so that this analysis could be completed and a plan put in place so the City prioritized the fire staffing and stations. Aren’t safe neighborhoods and Riverside residents a higher priority?