Supes Appointed To Committees To Fix Agencies' Fiscal Problems

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept appointments to either of three standing subcommittees newly established to review and identify potential remedies to fiscal challenges facing county agencies.

The vote also tentatively set meeting schedules for the budget subcommittees, which the Board of Supervisors put in place last week under the guidance of Chairman Kevin Jeffries and Supervisor Manuel Perez.

The pair wrote in documents posted to the Jan. 8 agenda that "deeper discussions" are vital to gain a complete picture of "departmental and agency budgets," and in particular "whether their budgets align with ... (board) goals and mandates."

The Administrative Services Committee will oversee general government and internal services, including the Office of the Assessor-Clerk-Recorder, Department of Human Resources, Department of Animal Services and the Office of the Registrar of Voters.

Jeffries will serve as chair, and Supervisor Karen Spiegel as co-chair.

The Health & Human Services Committee will focus on the Department of Public Social Services, Child Support Services, the Office of Veterans Services and the Riverside University Health System, which includes the county hospital in Moreno Valley.

Perez will serve as chair, and Supervisor Chuck Washington as co-chair.

The Public Safety & Public Works Committee will scrutinize the Office of the District Attorney, the Fire Department, Sheriff's Department, the Flood Control & Water Conservation District, Transportation & Land Management Agency and the Department of Environmental Health.

Washington will serve as chair, with Supervisor Jeff Hewitt as the co- chair.

Public safety agencies account for the largest share of discretionary revenue allocated annually, and the agencies are generally always struggling to structurally balance their budgets, with several starting each fiscal year in the red.

Under the tentative meeting schedule, all three budget subcommittees will first meet on either Jan. 28 or Jan. 31. These introductory meetings will run about 90 minutes and be held in the board's fifth floor conference room at the County Administrative Center in downtown Riverside.

Additional meetings are planned on Feb. 25, Feb. 27, April 8, April 10, June 3, June 5 and June 6.

The meetings will be agendized in advance for the public and posted to the county's website at https://countyofriverside.us. Anyone can attend a meeting.

Respective heads of each department and their staff will provide support to the supervisors during the hearings.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock