The city of Riverside is planning to prioritize the construction of three new affordable housing projects, test an artificial intelligence-powered police report writing system and complete the construction of a new Eastside neighborhood library by the end of 2026.
Those are just a few of the dozens of projects outlined by city staff Tuesday for the coming year within the Book of Work, a citywide planning tool.
“Collectively, this council has delivered a vision to the community and to staff,” City Manager Mike Futrell told the council at the February 10 meeting. “We have translated that into specific actions, and we want to make sure that we’re getting it right, that these projects actually reflect what you would like us to do in 2026.”
The Book of Work was developed by the city manager’s office to help guide citywide initiatives over the past year. This year’s proposal builds on that foundation by introducing new priorities and highlighting unfinished projects, according to the staff report. Futrell told the council that the Book of Work was a living document that could be updated as the year continues.
Seventeen department heads presented the Riverside City Council with an overview of key projects each of their teams had worked on, and completed, over the past year. Some departments, like the library team, touted outreach achievements like creating a mobile library. Others, like the fire department, showcased their community educational efforts.
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They then laid out their upcoming initiatives — everything from internal updates to citywide projects — planned for the coming year, taking questions and suggestions from each of the council members.
This included the development of three new affordable housing projects and the construction of several local government projects.
“We’re testing a body-worn camera narrative assist, so AI with our body-worn cameras,” Riverside Police Department Chief Larry Gonzalez told the council. “We always have several layers of review, like we have any other written report, but it will definitely help our officers in reducing report writing time.”
The council members also weighed in on what they would like to see the city to work on over the next 10 months. Council members Steven Robillard and Chuck Conder requested citywide initiatives like exploring a partnership with automotive companies to create training resources for students and bringing restaurant owners to the city to show them the city’s recent population growth. Others, like Councilmember Sean Mill, focused on their wards. The Ward 5 councilmember asked the city to prioritize road improvements and find locations for senior housing in his area.
Councilmember Philip Falcone, after giving his suggestions, expressed slight concern with the large number of ambitious projects listed within the Book of Work.
“I think that maybe 2026 should be less of a year of ideation and more of a year of execution,” he said. “I just worry that, for staff, if we’re asking them to do this much, that execution is going to suffer.”
This presentation came just two weeks after Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson highlighted a series of citywide successes over the past year during her State of the City address. During that speech, Lock Dawson highlighted successful efforts in the city that had resulted in a 35% drop in crime and $4.3 billion in construction projects. Staff said they would be continuing those efforts in 2026.
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