As promised in December, Riverside County announced efforts to gather greater citizen involvement in its budget preparation process.

Beginning April 17, a series of local workshops will be held to explain the county’s budget process and to gather feedback from residents about county services and budget priorities as the County Executive begins preparation of the initial presentation of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to the Board of Supervisors in May and budget hearings in June.

“As Chair of the Board of Supervisors, I am excited we are doing new things this year to increase outreach to community members during the budget process,” said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez (4th District). “For the first time, we will be bringing these discussions to our communities, in all five Supervisorial districts of Riverside County. We want to hear from you about what is most important in your county government.”

These workshops will provide a “Budget 101” overview that will go over where the county’s revenue comes from and which public services that revenue goes towards. More than 40 county departments provide services ranging from healthcare and housing to law enforcement and public works projects, according to the County’s press release.

“Our goal with these workshops is to provide residents with an overview of the county’s budget and to hear directly from residents on their priorities for county services,” said County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen. “When we hear directly from the people we serve, it leads to better budgeting. Your voice matters.”

These feedback sessions, to be held in each Supervisorial District, are open to all residents and will provide an opportunity to give thoughts and opinions about the County’s services and priorities.

Residents are not restricted to attend workshops in their District. The public is invited to which ever workshop is closest and offers the most convenient time, wrote Brooke Federico, the County’s Director of Communications, in an email to the Town Crier.

Details on where and when each workshop will be held are below:

District 1: Supervisor Jose Medina will host the first workshop at the County Administrative Center Board Chambers, located at 4080 Lemon St. in Riverside, on Wednesday, April 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

District 2: Supervisor Karen Spiegel will host at the City of Corona Council Chambers, located at 400 S. Vicentia Ave. in Corona, on Thursday, April 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

District 3: Supervisor Chuck Washington will hold a workshop at the French Valley Library, located at 31526 Skyview Rd. in Winchester, on Wednesday, April 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

District 4: Supervisor V. Manuel Perez will host at the Classic Club, located at 75-200 Classic Club Blvd. in Palm Desert (in the unincorporated area of Thousand Palms, the heart of the Coachella Valley) on Tuesday, April 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

District 5: Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez will host a Telephone Town Hall meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Please register by 2:30 p.m. on April 18 at tthm.com/riverside.

The County of Riverside emphasized its commitment to transparency and community engagement in the press release announcing the workshop’s schedule. The goals of the community workshops are to make a complicated budget process more accessible and to ensure that the county’s budget reflects the needs of its growing population.