Riverside gets it right!

Last month, Transparent California revealed that a Riverside utilities dispatcher had earned almost $400,000 in pay and benefits.

What happened next was a testimony to the importance of transparency in government.

The Press Enterprise covers our release, bringing the information to the attention of residents and city officials.

Then, just one month later, the Press Enterprise reports that Riverside changes policy after utility’s $257,719 overtime revelation. The City deserves credit for taking the appropriate action, as detailed below:

Riverside city and public utility officials are examining their procedures after a utility dispatcher collected $257,719 in overtime last year.

Audit: The city is reviewing some utility workers’ time cards to see who approved overtime hours.

Review: All city department heads are taking a survey on their use of overtime, and all will get monthly reports tracking future payouts.

Hiring: The utility will fill several vacant positions that officials said were partly to blame for the big overtime bill.

Rules: Officials will draft a policy to prevent excessive overtime.

Far too often governments take a reflexively defensive stance to justify the status quo, even when it is clearly to the detriment of the taxpayers they are obligated to serve. So it is extremely encouraging to see the City of Riverside do the right thing here.

We are happy to have played a small part in helping to effect positive change, something that only came about thanks to California’s public records law, the efforts of the Press Enterprise and, most importantly, the willingness of city officials to do the right thing.

As the Press Enterprise Editorial Board noted in a summary of the above events, now it is time for other government agencies to follow Riverside’s lead!