Hemet mayor cites $67 million surplus, boosted police staffing and $30 million in street work in 2025 State of the City

Mayor Jackie Peterson used Hemet’s Nov. 6 State of the City address to summarize the city’s fiscal position, public-safety upgrades and recent infrastructure and economic-development activity.

“I’m proud to report that we closed last year’s fiscal year with $67,000,000 in general fund surplus revenue,” Mayor Jackie Peterson said during the address, calling the city’s improved reserves and investment earnings a foundation for new programs and capital work.

Why it matters: Peterson framed the surplus and investment earnings as the source of targeted spending on public safety, streets and incentives for local businesses, arguing those investments will support staffing, reduce crime and encourage private investment in Hemet.

Public safety and technology: Peterson said the city has expanded police staffing to 87 of 91 authorized sworn officers, its highest staffing level in more than 15 years, and will add motorcycle officers and a seven-day-a-week Active Engagement Response and Outreach team. She told the audience the city committed about $6,000,000 this year to new equipment and software, listing purchases that include updated tasers, forward-facing in-car cameras, back-seat cameras, AI report-writing software and virtual-reality training. Peterson also described a new real-time information center that integrates video and data analysis and said the police department received a 2025 Lenco BearCat armored rescue vehicle.

Mayor Peterson attributed lower crime rates to those investments and to Measure U, the one-cent sales tax the city voters approved in 2016: “Since Measure U took effect, these crime rates have declined,” she said, adding they are now below the state average.

Streets and facilities: The mayor said the city invested $30,000,000 over the past 30 months in pavement and maintenance work. She cited multiple ways of describing the scope: more than 50 miles of streets rehabilitated, and later in the speech an estimate of about 7,500,000 square feet of asphalt (which the address described as roughly 120 lane miles or about 40 centerline miles). The address also listed upgrades to Fire Stations 1 and 3, a police-station refresh and repainting at City Hall.

Energy and cost savings: The city awarded a $1,500,000 contract for a solar installation at the library parking lot, which Peterson said is projected to reduce the city’s reliance on grid power and cut annual electricity costs by an estimated 49 percent.

Economic development and business openings: Peterson highlighted recent and prospective private investment, including the opening of Viarta Supermarket and the arrival of National Tube Supply’s roughly 90,000-square-foot warehouse. She said the city is discussing redevelopment of the Hemet Stock Farm (a roughly 60-acre site) and potential conversion of the Cagliro Ranch Nursery, and that a Hemet Auto Mall vehicle-dealership tax-sharing program could unlock more than $20,000,000 in investment over two years; three dealerships had applied to participate, she said.

Small-business grants and community support: The mayor described $450,000 in downtown kitchen grants intended to help establish three new restaurants, commercial façade improvement grants and a $100,000 community-grant program for local nonprofits. She also credited the Hemet Auto Mall and private sponsors for supporting events such as a drone show and a summer concert series.

Libraries, youth and volunteers: Peterson announced the Hemet Public Library added Tuesday hours (now open Tuesday through Saturday) and that the city launched a 19-member Hemet Youth Council to gather input from young residents. She also noted the Adopt-a-Street volunteer program doubled to 30 miles.

What the mayor reported vs. what was presented: Many figures and program descriptions were presented as mayoral reports during the event; the article attributes those claims to Mayor Jackie Peterson and other speakers rather than independently verifying outcomes. Where the speech included multiple numerical descriptions of the same item (for example, the mileage/square-footage metrics for pavement work), those differing figures are reported as given in the address.

Looking ahead: The mayor closed by urging community participation in beautification contests, volunteer programs and the city’s branding process, and she previewed additional economic activity and events expected in 2026 and 2027.