This week at City Hall

Here are today’s Riverside City Council agenda items of note.

1 p.m. Discussion Session

In today’s city council meeting, the city manager’s office is asking the council to approve an extension for the Outdoor Flex Space and Entertainment Permit programs, should Governor Gavin Newsom terminate the local emergency declaration.

The request comes with the intention of providing local businesses and places of worship with a smooth transition away from the emergency, rather than forcibly altering their operations 30 days after Newsom’s decision to completely reopen the state’s economy.

In a separate agenda item, the City Finance Department will ask the council to provide input on the third quarter, Fiscal Year 2020-2021 financial update.

6 p.m. Discussion Session

The Public Utilities Department (RPU) is asking council members to implement the third year of their electric rate plan.

The plan, which incrementally increases RPU customers’ utility rates over a five-year period, was put on hold because of payment delinquencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third year of the plan’s implementation was originally scheduled for January of this year.

In the third year of the plan, the average residential customer is estimated to experience an additional $3.22 in cost per month for electric service, which is based on the average residential electric bill of approximately $96–$100.

Should the council vote to approve its implementation, utility rates would increase according to the RPU rate plan beginning July 1.

The Director of Emergency Services and City Manager Al Zelinka will also ask the council to decide to either extend or terminate the city’s State of Emergency following the state’s decision regarding the same.