Public Safety Systems Are Overloaded

By Michael C. "Mike" Gardner

Riverside's police and fire personnel are stretched too thin. We need more police officers on the street and at least two new fire stations. This can be paid for by a combination of money saved by hiring fewer consultants, smarter purchasing and increased revenue from improved economic development programs.

We also need to add at least two new fire stations in the next four years. A recent study by the City Managers Association examined the fire departments in cities of 100,000 and greater. Riverside has fewer fire stations, fewer fire fighters and fewer fire fighters per truck than the average city of 100,000. We spend less money per capita on fire service then the average city. And, not surprisingly, we have more fires than the average city. There are several areas of the city where the fire department cannot meet its on scene arrival time goals because the fire stations are too far away. This can only be fixed by adding new fire stations.

The cost of the additional public service personnel and facilities can be covered from existing revenue if we spend the money we have more wisely and if we improve our economic development programs to attract new businesses and their associated tax dollars to Riverside.

The City Council cannot continue to put $40,000 cameras in $32,000 police cars, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultant reports that are, "received and filed" and never used and buying traffic light synchronization programs that cost tens of thousands of dollars per mile. Adequate technologies are available for much less than we are paying.

If we can focus our economic development programs on bringing new job intensive businesses that pay a living wage to Riverside we can significantly increase City revenue with no new taxes. It makes no sense to give incentives to a low salary big box store on the basis it has lots of sales tax revenue if the shoppers are already buying in Riverside. People do not come to Riverside from surrounding cities to shop at our Home Depot. The people who shop at Riverside's Home Depot used to shop at Riverside County Lumber and Ace Hardware and other stores that are no longer in business.

We should pay less attention to sales tax and more attention to good jobs. People with good jobs will spend their money which will generate new sales tax revenue. We should only only give incentives to businesses that will actually bring new shoppers to Riverside, not to businesses that just shift shopping from one Riverside business to another.

The money saved from smarter spending and the increased revenue from good econoic development can fund the needed public safety enhancements with no tax increases and without cutting other city services.