Riverside Doesn’t Need Another Press Conference. It Needs Leadership.

Last week Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson once again stood before cameras urging Sacramento to restore funding for California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program.

The message was predictable.

The State needs to send Riverside more money.

But after six years of HHAP funding, billions of taxpayer dollars invested statewide, and repeated promises that “this time” progress is around the corner, Riverside residents should be asking a far different question:

If this program is working, why are we still asking for emergency funding?

At some point, taxpayers deserve more than press conferences and polished talking points.

They deserve measurable results.

HHAP Was Supposed to Solve Problems—Not Become a Permanent Revenue Stream

When California created HHAP in 2019, it was sold as a flexible grant program to reduce homelessness through housing, outreach, prevention, regional coordination, and evidence-based interventions.

It was never intended to become a permanent dependency where local governments return every budget cycle demanding another billion dollars.

Even the program itself requires jurisdictions to demonstrate outcomes, regional coordination, and accountability.

Yet today the conversation has shifted from performance to entitlement.

The expectation seems to be:

“We’ve spent the money. Give us more.”

That is not accountability.

Billions Have Been Spent Across California

California has invested billions through:

• HHAP
• Project Homekey
• Project Roomkey
• Encampment Resolution Grants
• Behavioral health programs
• Affordable housing subsidies
• Local matching funds
• County mental health funding
• Federal housing grants
  

Despite this unprecedented spending:

• California continues to have one of the nation’s largest homeless populations.
• Riverside continues struggling with encampments.
• Local governments continue requesting emergency funding.
• Taxpayers continue paying more every year.
  

Even Governor Gavin Newsom recently expressed his frustration, stating:

“I’m not interested in funding failure anymore.”

That statement should apply just as much to Riverside as it does anywhere else.

Follow the Money

Before asking Sacramento—or Riverside taxpayers—for another dollar, City Hall should publish a comprehensive HHAP report that every resident can understand.

Not a glossy brochure.

Not another PowerPoint.

A real financial accounting.

It should answer questions such as:

• How much HHAP funding has Riverside received since 2019?
• How much was received directly by the City versus through the Continuum of Care?
• How much local money supplemented those grants?
• How many people were permanently housed?
• How many remained housed after 12 months?
• How many returned to homelessness?
• What was the fully burdened cost per successful permanent housing placement?
• How much was spent on administration?
• How much was spent on consultants?
• How much was spent on overhead rather than direct services?
  

These are not unreasonable questions.

They are exactly the questions any private-sector board of directors would ask before approving another round of funding.

Riverside Should Measure Success Like a Business

Imagine if a Riverside business operated this way.

Sales continue declining.

Expenses continue increasing.

Customers remain dissatisfied.

Employees complain about leadership.

Financial pressures mount.

And management’s solution is simply:

“Give us a larger budget.”

No board of directors would accept that.

No shareholders would tolerate it.

Taxpayers shouldn’t either.

Leadership Begins Inside City Hall

Perhaps most troubling is that while the Mayor is focused on statewide lobbying efforts and media appearances, Riverside continues experiencing significant internal challenges.

During Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson’s tenure, residents have witnessed:

• Executive leadership controversies.
• Charter officer turnover.
• Costly personnel decisions.
• Serious financial pressures.
• Public allegations of employee harassment and workplace dysfunction.
• Ongoing disputes regarding transparency and public records.
• Declining public confidence in City Hall.
  

None of those problems can be blamed on Sacramento.

Those are management issues.

Leadership issues.

Governance issues.

Before asking taxpayers to invest more money into new programs, Riverside’s leadership should demonstrate it can effectively manage the organization it already oversees.

Riverside’s Financial Warning Lights Are Flashing

The timing makes these requests even more concerning.

The City continues facing:

• Structural budget challenges.
• Growing pension obligations.
• Infrastructure needs.
• Deferred maintenance.
• Public safety demands.
• Utility system investments.
• Labor costs.
• Executive compensation increases.
  

Every dollar committed to one priority is a dollar unavailable for another.

That makes accountability even more important.

Government Has Become Too Focused on Optics

Increasingly, Riverside government appears to confuse visibility with effectiveness.

Ribbon cuttings.

Groundbreakings.

Photo opportunities.

Award ceremonies.

Conference appearances.

Professional videos.

Instagram posts.

Facebook reels.

LinkedIn announcements.

None of those solve homelessness.

None repair employee morale.

None improve financial stewardship.

None restore public confidence.

Government should not operate like an influencer campaign chasing likes, shares, and favorable headlines.

It should operate like a professionally managed organization focused on measurable performance.

Leadership isn’t measured by followers.

Leadership is measured by outcomes.

What Riverside Actually Needs

The City does not simply need another grant.

It needs:

• Independent performance audits.
• Transparent financial reporting.
• Objective program evaluations.
• Independent oversight of Charter Officers.
• Better employee protections.
• Greater accountability from executive leadership.
• Public reporting on measurable outcomes.
• Leadership willing to acknowledge failure when programs are not producing expected results.
  

Until those things occur, asking taxpayers to simply write another check is asking them to finance hope rather than performance.

The Questions Every Resident Should Ask

Before another HHAP dollar is spent, every resident deserves answers:

• Is homelessness meaningfully lower than when HHAP began?
• Has Riverside demonstrated better outcomes than comparable cities?
• What is the true cost for every permanent housing success?
• Which programs should be expanded?
• Which programs should be eliminated?
• Who is being held accountable when objectives are missed?
  

If City Hall cannot answer those questions clearly and transparently, then the conversation should not begin with requesting more funding.

It should begin with fixing leadership.

Riverside Deserves Better

Riverside is filled with highly paid public employees,and first responders, nonprofits, volunteers, and hardworking taxpayers.

They deserve leadership focused on governing—not campaigning.

Managing—not marketing.

Results—not rhetoric.

The Mayor has now been in office long enough that Riverside’s successes and failures belong to this administration.

The City cannot continue blaming Sacramento, Washington, previous councils, or economic conditions every time another program falls short.

Leadership means accepting responsibility.

Taxpayers are willing to invest in success.

They are far less willing to subsidize repeated failure.

The question is no longer whether HHAP deserves another billion dollars.

The question is whether Riverside’s leadership has earned the public’s confidence that another billion dollars would produce materially different results.