AnnaMarie C.United States
Sep 1, 2026
Nobody wants to see cuts to our Parks and Recreation services. However, the City of Banning’s finances have been mismanaged for years which created a huge deficit. This was also confirmed by the recent Riverside County Civil Grand Jury’s report. This is what the new council and staff inherited. We are now tasked with having to make some extremely difficult decisions about our city’s current situation as well as our future. In the name of transparency, we’ve conducted three public workshops surrounding the
city’s budget. Every department in the city is facing budget cuts. This is in response to working within a balanced budget; something Banning had not seen in the last 8 years.
During the last budget workshop on August 26th , staff proposed accelerating one-time money and modifying an organizational chart in an effort so save SOME Parks and Recreation services. It is important to note, these modifications do not save every service, nor every position. This is true for every city department. It provides very limited basic services. Unless Banning sees a significant increase in reliable and recurring revenue, we will likely be in the same position next year; we have to live within our means as we can’t spend money we don’t have. One time monies and grants are simply not enough to sustain any city.
We will continue to explore volunteerism, partnerships with surrounding organizations, and adjusting our fee schedule to reflect resident / non-residents tiers, until a more permanent revenue source can be secured. We continue to be open and transparent. We didn’t create this financial stress and neither did the public. However, it will take ALL of us to address it and move forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhaHFOSz0LU&list=PLYgtvxAN-r8rjkCf3fitrH88Qw782RBLt
Respectfully,
Richard Royce,
Mayor, City of Banning
[Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.]
city’s budget. Every department in the city is facing budget cuts. This is in response to working within a balanced budget; something Banning had not seen in the last 8 years.
During the last budget workshop on August 26th , staff proposed accelerating one-time money and modifying an organizational chart in an effort so save SOME Parks and Recreation services. It is important to note, these modifications do not save every service, nor every position. This is true for every city department. It provides very limited basic services. Unless Banning sees a significant increase in reliable and recurring revenue, we will likely be in the same position next year; we have to live within our means as we can’t spend money we don’t have. One time monies and grants are simply not enough to sustain any city.
We will continue to explore volunteerism, partnerships with surrounding organizations, and adjusting our fee schedule to reflect resident / non-residents tiers, until a more permanent revenue source can be secured. We continue to be open and transparent. We didn’t create this financial stress and neither did the public. However, it will take ALL of us to address it and move forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhaHFOSz0LU&list=PLYgtvxAN-r8rjkCf3fitrH88Qw782RBLt
Respectfully,
Richard Royce,
Mayor, City of Banning
[Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.]
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