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Riverside receives midyear financial update; council moves to continue Riverwalk Vista accounting cleanup
Summary
Deputy finance director Sergio Aguilar told the council the city maintains strong reserves (about $238 million total general-fund reserves) and recommended midyear revenue and expenditure adjustments; council amended the midyear item to continue an old Riverwalk Vista accounting cleanup and approved the adjusted package unanimously.
Deputy Finance Director Sergio Aguilar presented Riverside's fiscal-year 2025–26 second-quarter update on April 14, reporting strong reserves and recommending targeted midyear revenue and expenditure adjustments.
At a high level, Aguilar said the city maintains approximately $238 million in total general-fund reserves and recommended net general-fund revenue adjustments of about $4.57 million alongside roughly $3.4 million in expenditure adjustments and several supplemental appropriations. He also recommended a supplemental related to Police Department overtime of about $2.6 million to account for trending overtime costs tied to protests, training and increased operations.
"Overall, the City continues to maintain a strong fiscal position with record level reserves," Aguilar said as he walked the council through revenues and fund-by-fund projections. Staff recommended restraint on unallocated reserves and noted slower-than-budgeted development fees and some sales and transmission revenue pressures.
Council members asked for clarification on a technical cleanup entry labeled 'Riverwalk Vista' tied to a receivable in a redevelopment bond fund. After discussion, the council agreed to exempt that sub-item (item e) from the midyear package and continue it to a future meeting for separate consideration. The amended motion to receive the second-quarter update and approve midyear adjustments as amended carried unanimously.
Key staff recommendations included certain general-fund revenue increases, a Measure Z net reduction of about $220,000 (after interest offsets), supplemental appropriations totaling multimillions across programs and bookkeeping cleanups tied to redevelopment and CFDs. Council directed staff to separately return the Riverwalk Vista cleanup for clarity and to avoid perceived conflicts for members with potential local interests.
Next step: Council approved the midyear adjustments as amended; staff will return the Riverwalk Vista item on a future agenda and continue implementation of the approved supplemental appropriations.
