It is imperative that we address the critical need to cut wasteful spending and optimize our budget for the betterment of our community. To achieve this, I propose the following actions:

1. Evaluate Salaries and Travel Expenditures: Conduct a comprehensive review of all salaries and travel expenses. Reducing unnecessary travel and aligning salaries with our region’s cost of living will provide immediate savings.
2. Eliminate Non-Essential Expenditures: Assess each expenditure for its direct value to the quality of life in Riverside. This includes cutting city-funded social media campaigns that do not contribute to tangible community benefits.
3. Reassess Homeless and Vagrant Initiatives: We need a thorough evaluation of the costs associated with initiatives like the “build it and they will come” approach to homelessness. Ensure these programs are effective and fiscally responsible.
4. Reform Pensions and Employment Costs: The current pension and employment costs are unsustainable. We must consider outsourcing certain services, such as technology, to reduce fully burdened employment costs while improving service quality and cybersecurity.
5. Outsource Services: To better serve taxpayers and citizens, we should outsource as many services as possible, including technology and sanitation services. This approach will help us deliver higher quality services while reducing costs. The current costs of city-staffed services are far too high and need to be reduced. Our goal should be to serve the public efficiently, rather than operating as an employment agency for unions.
6. Consider Impacts of Federal Changes: Anticipate the impact of pending federal classification changes under the Biden administration, which could affect the profitability of local dispensaries and reduce tax revenue.
7. Focus on Waste Reduction: The city’s current approach lacks a focus on eliminating waste, which is estimated at about 40% in government agencies. Instead of increasing taxes, we need to identify and eliminate inefficiencies.
8. Address Overhead Transmission Lines: The presence of overhead transmission lines negatively impacts our local economy and reinforces Riverside as a warehouse district rather than a serious technology hub. According to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), undergrounding electric lines can beautify our city, increase property values, reduce urban blight, and enhance electric reliability and safety. Many cities, such as Irvine and Santa Ana, have successfully buried overhead lines without succumbing to high-density, low-income housing developments.

We should demand that the governor and the state fund the mandate for Governor Newsom’s housing plan or rescind the commitment. Our focus should be on developing Riverside into a modern business and technology hub, not a low-income warehouse district.