Kevin's Corner
Well, we have survived the holidays, and for most of us our wallets are unfortunately a little lighter as we head into the New Year! Hopefully all that Christmas shopping will at least help provide new revenues to the county budget.I believe the future for Riverside County is both bright and challenging. When I moved here in 1971 the total population of county was around 460,000. Today we are pushing somewhere near 2.3 million – and growing. Out of 58 counties in California we are the 4th largest (behind LA, Orange & San Diego). Our challenge will be protecting and enhancing our Quality of Life (i.e. good jobs, safe neighborhood, public infrastructure – streets, schools, etc.) as that growth inevitably comes.Unfortunately, while many economies are based on exports, our biggest export in Riverside County seems to be workers – employees who have to drive to other counties for good paying jobs. That’s one reason why we need to continue our county-wide efforts to be more business & job friendly.Regarding our county finances – prior to my election I watched my board colleagues make some very difficult choices and very big cuts to keep our county budget sound. I’m cautiously optimistic that we are improving, but I have to say that I’m nervous. I’m nervous that our annual expenses are on a path to grow faster than the growth of our slowly increasing revenues. Finding new efficiencies and advocating for consolidations will be my top financial priorities in 2014. I also want to start reducing the county debt load (the mortgage-like debt we hand off to our children and their children). Let’s also look at better promoting volunteerism in our County. Our County parks department has a great volunteer program that saves millions of dollars each year! Of course, volunteerism won’t solve all of our financial challenges – but I would argue that having more citizens (taxpayers) involved and helping with some of the day to day operations of our government is a good thing, and I have heard from many of our residents that want to help.In closing - a lot of very good things have happened in the First District (some of which I owe to my predecessor for starting). It has been honor to finish some of those past efforts and to kick off new efforts to improve our county and our neighborhoods. If you have ideas or suggestions to help make Riverside County even better, please feel free to drop us a note, and yes – I accept and read the nasty-grams that point how we could do even better!Sincerely,
Kevin Jeffries
Supervisor Success Stories
Each month this column will highlight recent successes in Supervisor Jeffries' Office, whether it is assistance for a single citizen dealing with the county bureaucracy, a change in county policy to improve our community, or a promise kept by the Supervisor.
Flood Control Channel Clean Ups…..
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At the end of last year a private property owner approached the First District Office with a simple request: “Can you please clean up the weeds and debris accumulating at the end of your flood control channel?”
The Ortega Channel runs perpendicular to Grand Avenue and parallel to a group of homes on Serena Way in Lakeland Village. Over the years the Channel had filled with silt, trash & debris. Additionally, non-native vegetation began to take hold and had grown in excess of 10 feet high in some spots.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Our office put the property owner in touch with Flood Control Commissioner Chris Hyland who immediately scheduled a site meeting for January 2, 2014 and on January 7th the Flood Control District was on- scene and completely cleaned the channel and beach area.
While the Department of Fish & Game had reviewed and approved the District’s request for a clean-up, Commissioner Christine Hyland helped move this to the top of the priority list before a significant rain event could occur which might have caused additional issues.
Supervisor Jeffries also worked with Wildomar Mayor Scott Walker, Councilmember Ben Benoit, and Planning Commissioners Bobby Swann and Stan Smith to accelerate a similar dredging and clean-up project along the Murrieta Creek drainage from McVickar Street to Clinton Keith Road.
Can Wildomar say thank you?
Or contact Bobbie Neff, CEO @ (951) 686-4402 or via email at bobbie@connectriverside.org
