This Week in City Hall: August 28, 2023

Welcome to our weekly digest on public meetings and agenda items worthy of your attention in the next week. This guide is part of our mission to provide everyday Riversiders like you with the information to speak up on the issues you care about.

Housing and Homelessness Committee

The Housing and Homelessness Committee meets on Monday, August 28, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda). The only item for discussion is a 30-minute presentation from Michelle Davis, the City's Housing Authority Manager, giving an update on Riverside's Homelessness Action Plan in a continuation of last month's meeting.

Here are a few highlights from the report, which covers July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023: 

• Increased households assisted through rental programs by 150% (from 20 to 30 households).
• Did not meet the goal of referring 75 households to employment assistance programs
• Opened 23 new shelter beds, a 10% increase, but did not decrease unsheltered homelessness, which increased by 18% this year.
• 311 calls related to homelessness increased by 59%, with a decrease of 63% in 911 homelessness-related calls.

Board of Public Utilities

The RPU Board meets on Monday, August 14, at 6:30 p.m.(agenda) for a Public Hearing on the proposed utility rate increases.

The current 5-year rate plan for water expired on June 30, 2023, and electricity expires on December 31, 2023. RPU management says existing rates do not sufficiently fund the utility's increasing operational and capital costs.

• An increased 5-year rate plan for water is proposed to fund $184M in capital projects and $148M in bonds, leading to a $4.07 monthly or $0.15 daily increase in year 1 for residential customers using 21 CCF.
• A 5-year rate plan for electricity with average increases of 5% is proposed to fund $316M in capital projects and $276M in bonds, resulting in a $7.97 monthly or $0.21 daily increase in year 1 for residential customers using 600 kWh.

Planning Commission

The Planning Commission meeting is canceled this week.