Council members would no longer be able to put their names on taxpayer-funded ward events under a proposed policyadvanced Wednesday by the Governmental Processes Committee.
"I kind of feel like our name shouldn't be on it ever, period," said Councilmember Philip Falcone, who chairs the committee. "If it says Ward 1, for example, that should be enough. It doesn't need to have my name on it."
Vice Chair Jim Perry agreed, saying council member names should not appear on events or social media advertising. "This is truly a city event," he said.
Currently, ward events are marketed under the city's "Local Vibes" branding, but some council members have added their own logos to event materials.
The branding consensus came as the committee debated a separate question: whether to restrict council members facing contested elections from hosting ward events for 90 days before an election. Committee members acknowledged the restriction could bar candidates from hosting events for up to six months during election years—council members on the June primary ballot would be barred starting in March, and if the race advances to November, the blackout would extend through October.
"That's a lot of time to take away," said Councilmember Chuck Conder, who faces re-election in 2026.
The restriction is modeled after the state Political Reform Act's ban on mass mailings at public expense. Committee members agreed to have the City Attorney's office clarify legal questions around the election restrictions before the policy returns to the full City Council.
The policy has bounced between the committee and council since August 2025 without final adoption.
"We're playing ping pong at this point," Falcone said.
The ward event program—which allocates $75,000 to each of Riverside's seven council wards—has operated since City Council approved the funding in June 2023 without a formally adopted policy governing its use.
"I think this policy should have been worked out and approved prior to it being implemented," Perry said.
Perry said he had "heard numbers that have gone from 35 to 45,000 to 50,000 to 75,000" before staff confirmed the $75,000 figure. He requested the allocation be documented in narrative form in staff reports for transparency.
The funds can be used for events like festivals, car shows, and art events, or for projects including public art installations, signage, and plantings. Falcone cited City Hall's 50th anniversary celebration and Lunar Festival lanterns on Mission Inn Avenue as examples.
The committee also endorsed allowing council members to allocate their ward event funds to events in other wards, subject to a consent calendar vote for transparency.
"It's city money, in my opinion," Conder said, suggesting council members with unused funds could contribute to colleagues' events rather than letting money go unspent.
The committee rejected automatic carryover of unused funds to the following year. "I just don't think that—because then I start worrying about people kind of squirreling away money over the course of five years," Falcone said.
The revised policy would require annual planning meetings between council offices and the Arts and Cultural Affairs team, post-event cost and attendance reporting, and quarterly budget updates to council members.
Three council seats—Wards 2, 4, and 6—are on the ballot in June 2026. The Ward 2 and Ward 6 seats are open after Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes and Jim Perry opted not to seek re-election. Conder faces two challengers in Ward 4.
Council will consider eminent domain for a quiet zone project stopping train horns sounded 31 times daily at two crossings, award $5.56 million for street resurfacing, and review Riverside Alive Project environmental certification appeals.
