Page 4 - The Friday Flyer • July 15, 2016

A-4 THE FRIDAY FLYER JULY 15, 2016 Jeffries provides update on county finances
While the Canyon Lake City Council continues to press forward for ways to reduce the cost of public safety, a few people have said they think it would be better for Canyon Lake to disincorpo- rate and come under the auspices of the County of Riverside. Here is District 1 Supervisor Kevin Jeffries’ take on coun- ty finances.
Canyon Lake is included in his dis- trict, which also encompasses about 450,000 residents in the cities of Wildo- mar, Lake Elsinore and most of the City of Riverside. The district also covers the unincorporated communities of De Luz, Gavilan Hills, Good Hope, Lake Hills, Lake Mathews, La Cresta, Mead Val- ley, Meadowbrook, Spring Hills, Tem- escal Valley, Tenaja, Warm Springs and Woodcrest.
Here is this month’s update from Su- pervisor Jeffries.
Kevin’s Corner
BY KEVIN JEFFRIES
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR
July 1st kicked off the new fiscal year for the County of Riverside, and it’s go- ing to be a rough ride. In the course of budget discussions I have been called a penny pincher and a tightwad – however I view those as “complimentary insults” when serving in my elected capacity.
After all, it’s your tax dollars we are talking about spending (or not). And when it comes to good ol’ fashioned spending, nobody does it better than government!
Over the next 12 months, Riverside County government spending is project- ed to outstrip revenues by roughly $1.17 million per week – requiring the County to draw down its rainy day reserves by roughly $61 million.
The following fiscal year, the red ink spending is expected to continue – but at a lesser amount (if spending is held flat). Besides my inherent gripe with deficit spending, my concern about spending our rainy day reserves is – it’s not rain- ing!
For the most part, our economy has been rebounding, or at least trending up- ward for several years in a row. Reve- nues are up (meaning taxpayers are pay- ing more taxes), yet even in this good (or better) economy, our government is unable to live within its means.
Now to be fair, I have to point out that our county government was hit with the perfect financial storm. A massive pris- oner rights lawsuit settlement requires the county (aka taxpayers) to spend an additional $40 million per year to pro- vide some of the best healthcare in the state – not for fellow taxpayers, but in- stead for inmates in the county jails.
This is compounded with the state- wide re-alignment of state prisons, whereby fewer convicted criminals are sent to overcrowded state prisons and are instead sentenced to overcrowded county jails, which then leads to early releases back into our communities, which in turn leads to having to build an (extremely expensive and long overdue) additional county jail to hold the serious offenders, which of course requires hav- ing to hire more correctional officers to work in the new jail, all of which puts pressure on the county Probation and Public Defender Departments and the county District Attorney’s offices.
And while all of this criminal jus- tice upheaval is occurring, it’s no sur- prise that new crime stats indicate that crime in many neighborhoods is on the rise (likely due in large part because all
District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries is pictured riding in Canyon Lake's Fiesta Day Parade.
Everyone still getting used to new Main Gate
Residents and guards are still getting used to the new lanes and procedures at the Main Gate. Not much has changed for guests; they still use the left lane and approach the guard shack for their pass to enter the community. But it seems from comments on social media that there are mixed reviews on the center and righthand lanes.
The gate on the right lane, reserved for property owners with RFID tran- sponders, has been damaged a few times since it opened Friday, July 1. Some have reported seeing the gate come down on a vehicle, trailer or boat when a driver is trying to follow the previous driver through without waiting his turn, and sometimes even when the driver has entered correctly.
Some people are still getting used to stopping at the stop sign and waiting for the green light to move forward to the guard shack. Some have reported that guards have waved them forward with- out the light turning green. Some have reported arriving at the guard shack to see no guards at all.
Here are the POA’s instructions ac- cording to how the Main Gate is sup- posed to work.
New Lanes
1. Guest Lane (Left Lane) is for new and returning guests.
2. Returning Guest and Resident Lane (Middle Lane) is for guests with Guest Barcode Pass Scanner, POA Ac- cess Cards or a Valid POA Decal.
3. RFID/Transponder Lane (Right Lane) is for resident with RFID Transponder
1. Guest Lane Instructions
• Waiting vehicles are to stop at the limit line (thick white line) until direct- ed to approach guard house with green
This picture of the Main Gate was taken a couple of days before the new lanes became operational on July 1.
of the early releases and lack of lower cost alternatives), which then, of course, leads to requests to hire more law en- forcement officers to patrol our streets.
While all of the above financial tur- moil makes up a very large part of the financial heartburn for our county, you also have to throw in other lawsuits, previously approved pay and benefit increases, workers comp claims, non-es- sential spending, and inefficient depart- ments and/or services.
It is my view that these challenges are the responsibility of the five-member elected Board of Supervisors (and the executive staff) to fix, and as such, I
have introduced a series of cost saving proposals for the budget and changes to the budget process itself.
We have some great, hard-working professional employees at all levels and in all departments. They and all River- side County taxpayers depend on the County Board of Supervisors to provide sound leadership at the top. I believe it can and must be done. After all “the buck stops here.”
The final budget is scheduled to be voted upon July 26th, but if you want to watch the last Board meeting (June 28th) on the budget, visit http://river- sidecountyca.iqm2.com.
traffic light (located at top of guard house).
• The guard will provide additional direction.
2. Resident Lane Instructions
• Waiting vehicles are to stop at the limit line (thick white line) until direct- ed to approach guard house with green traffic light (located at the top of the
guard house).
• The guard will provide additional
direction and/or verify decal.
• Returning guests may use “valid”
barcode pass.
• Residents may use POA Access
card.
• Scan valid pass or POA Card at ki-
osk next to guard house door
3. RFID/Transponder Lane In- structions
• Residents with RFID Transponders should approach the barrier arm at “less than 5 mph” and the gate arm will open automatically.
• The arm comes down after each ve- hicle. Do not go until the arm has lifted for your vehicle.
PHOTO BY DONNA KUPKE PHOTO BY BERT BARBAY