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City of Riverside 2014 Federal Legislative Platform Riverside turned a corner in 2013 and began to rebuild in the wake of the Great Recession. Home prices are rebounding, foreclosures slowed dramatically, homeowners began to see equity return to their properties and the Inland region began to make some progress on unemployment. Riverside also benefitted from the successful funding of the UC Riverside School of Medicine and looks forward to benefitting from the spinoff businesses that are expected to develop as a result of close proximity to UCR Med. Like many communities, Riverside also is continuing to deal with impacts associated with realignment of the state prison system. There remain ongoing legislative challenges at the Federal level. The City of Riverside supports a balanced approach to reducing the deficit and supports the traditional partnership between the federal government and local governments. As such, the City opposes an across - the -board sequestration process to reduce federal spending and supports the incorporation of spending cuts with additional revenue from sources such as federal tax code reform as a mindful approach to achieve deficit reduction. The deep cuts to both discretionary and defense spending mandated by the sequestration process may impact the City's ability to meet the emergent needs of our constituents in a time when our economy continues a slow recovery from the recession. The City of Riverside's federal legislative platform focuses on a range of issues while also clearly stating our focus in urging the federal government to do more to create jobs quickly, support infrastructure investment and to stabilize local government budgets. The 2014 legislative priorities are: 1. Job Creation: Riverside urges the federal government to make strategic investments in local governments and their economy through job creation and job stabilization. This issue is the City's first and foremost legislative priority. 2. Transportation Infrastructure: Riverside seeks funding to mitigate the disproportionate share of negative impacts on the City related to national goods movement. 3. Public Safety: Riverside seeks funding and tools to promote the safety of City residents and to support public safety employees. 4. Public Utilities: Riverside supports preserving the local rate making authority of municipally -owned utilities and promotes voluntary compliance instead of direct oversight. 5. Livability: Riverside seeks the resources, including grant funding and