2020 BAILEY STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

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CITY OF RIVERSIDE Mayor Rusty Bailey State of the City Address Riverside, California January 30, 2020 State of the City 2020 — Foundations For The Future Thank you, Cindy and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, for being exceptional partners with this event each and every year and thank you all here tonight for investing your valuable time with me. The state of our city is strong! Riverside is breaking records and leading Inland Southern California in many economic indicators. Our focus on intelligent growth and sustainable development has sparked almost 2 billion dollars in private investment in the last five years. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, with small business employment up 37%! On a personal note, from being at the state's budget table with the governor and Big City Mayors; to my advocacy at the California Public Utilities Commission in pursuit of a second connection to the state power grid; to changing minds at the Southern California Association of Governments to prevent urban sprawl, I have laid foundations that will last for generations, and I have proudly represented your interests and elevated this region as the capital of Inland Southern California. These successes are our successes, but the bottom-line up front is this — California, and thereby Riverside, is in a housing and homeless crisis. We need to treat this emergency with a sense of urgency. As a former Army Officer, it pains me a little to steal a phrase from the Navy, but this Mayor is calling on you — all hands on deck. I'll say it again, my friends — all hands on deck. But before I go any further, let me get this out of the way -- I will not be a lame duck Mayor. You all know me well enough by now to understand that I will finish strong. That means we must continue the momentum of the Riverside Renaissance and further the quality of life investments in this city. We can achieve this through focused Measure Z spending, balancing our next two-year budget, and looking out ten years toward a financial plan that maintains fiscal solvency all while fulfilling a commitment to our employees, both past and present. This means strategic planning has never been more important for cities, all of which face the same challenges of limited resources, high expectations, uncertain financial futures and growing transportation needs. Page I of 9