CITY UPDATE

July 7, 2023

The Hemet City Council adopted the City’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 $70.2 million budget on June 27, 2023. The budget supports 373.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.

With the disciplined stewardship of budget resources and improved economic performance in recent years, the City’s General Fund and Measure U reserves collectively now exceed $54 million. The represents an increase of more than $41 million since FY 2016-17. This vastly improved financial position contributed to the October 2022 decision by the State Auditor to remove the City of Hemet from a Local High-Risk designation the State Auditor applied in 2016. This is a significant achievement for the City.

The City’s strong economic performance and the growing financial resources has

allowed the City Council to expand services and make strategic one-time investments in

the FY 2023-24 budget. Examples include:

• Augmenting citywide street paving/resurfacing by $2 million
• Repaving the Hemet Auto Mall
• Growing the City’s Flock safety cameras from 40 to 60
• Establishing a Real-Time Crime Suppression Center

Recognizing the improvement in City finances, the Council also directed staff to prepare

an Ordinance to increase the City’s General Fund Reserve Minimum Balance from 20%

to 40%. This ordinance will be considered at the City Council’s next meeting on July 11.

To view the Budget Document click here.

On June 30, 2023, the City of Hemet held a free community event at Mary Henley Park with a showing of Disney's Luca.

Families partook in games for the kids as well as free popcorn and cotton candy. The event was well attended with over 300 attendees.

Plan to attend the next Movie in the Park on July 28 at 7pm with a showing of Disney's Turning Red. Come join in the fun!

The City of Hemet is updating its Safety Element, and adding a new Environmental Justice Element. The Safety Element update will address wildfire, climate adaptation and resiliency strategies, and other risks to the community to ensure compliance with new State mandates.

The Environmental Justice Element will promote policies to reduce health risks, environmental pollution, access to public facilities, fresh and healthy food access, and safe and sanitary homes.

A virtual workshop was held on May 22, 2022 and is now available to view in English and Spanish here.

TAKE THE SURVEY TODAY! Your Input is Important. To participate in upcoming workshops, please contact Monique Alaniz-Flejter at 951-765-2370 or mflejter@hemetca.gov 

On June 19 the Hemet Police Department’s Community Services Bureau kicked off the My City Youth Center 5th Grade Youth Academy where Officers teach participating students lift skills such as integrity, initiative, courage, and loyalty.

The Department partnered with other organizations, such as the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, Home Depot and HCN Bank, to provide students with learning lessons focused on character development.

We’re thankful to continue to partner with local non-profits to positively impact the youth in our city.

Public Works Receives a New GapVax Combination Vacuum

Public Works received a new GapVax Combination vacuum and jet truck on June 29th. This specialized piece of equipment comes with a high-pressure water system for jetting out and cleaning pipes and channels. It also contains a large vacuum system capable of sucking up debris from deep down in manholes and drain inlets. It will be utilized by the Wastewater and Storm Drain Divisions for daily operations.

The Wastewater Division will utilize it to routinely clean the city’s sewer infrastructure system to prevent backups and other issues.

The Storm Drain Division will be using this piece of equipment to maintain storm drain inlets, channels, pump vaults, and other storm water infrastructure.

The vacuum is powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and will replace older diesel fueled equipment. 

The purchase was 100% funded through the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Assembly Bill 2766 subvention program.

Each year the City of Hemet completes a Drinking Water Quality Report to inform customers about the sources and quality of our drinking water.

A copy of our latest report is available on our website here.

Quench your thirst with the two new drinking fountains with bottle filling stations at Mary Henley Park while your kids are playing on the recently renovated children's playground equipment or after a work out at the Outdoor Fitness Court!

Congratulations to our new Fire Fighter/Paramedic Trainee’s for graduating from the City of Hemet Academy.

Welcome to the City of Hemet family Chase Overgaag, Brandon Staggs, Nathan Montes, Dillon Myers!

On June 22nd Mayor Joe Males, the City Manager, Police and Fire Chiefs and Community Development staff provided community updates at My City Youth.

The information consisted of current initiatives for City improvements, developments coming to the area and public safety updates.

If your neighborhood community, church or organization is interested in hosting our team for a community meeting please reach out to City Manager's Office staff at admnstaff@hemetca.gov.

Hemet Council Members were honored to be invited to Barbara Ingman's centenarian birthday celebration at the Village on July 5th. Many joined to celebrate her life and feast and munch on cake!

Barbara has lived in Hemet for over 40 years and loves this communities size and friendliness of the the town!

Happy birthday Barbara.

City Manager Mark Prestwich

Participates in a Ride Along with Fire Staff

City Manager Mark Prestwich joined in a ride along with Fire staff in late June. He had a great time seeing what a typical day in the life of a Hemet Firefighter looks like and plans to join in a Police ride along in the coming weeks.

City Council Members Join in the

City of San Jacinto 4th of July Parade

Mayor Joe Males, Mayor Pro Tem Malcolm Lilienthal and Council Members Jackie Peterson and Carole Kendrick joined in the City of San Jacinto's 4th of July Parade along with Hemet Fire and Police. The Council Members enjoy participating in this event every year!

Art in the Park is Displayed at Multiple

City of Hemet Locations

Art in the Park artwork is currently on display in the lobbies of City Hall, the Fire and Department of Life and Safety Building and the Hemet Public Library.

Art in the Park is a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funded program that provides artwork sessions for adults with disabilities to foster communication, cognitive and manual skills, self-esteem, and develop social interactions in a community setting.

Please stop by and take a look at these wonderful works of art created by Exceed clients through the Art in the Park program.

On Saturday, July 1, the Hemet Police Department publicly announced National Night Out, an event aimed at enhancing the relationship between our community and law enforcement. The event is a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. We hope to see everyone there!

Information for Low Income

First Time Home Buyers

Did you know income-qualifying First Time Homebuyers living in the City of Hemet may be eligible for Down Payment Assistance through the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program?

The Riverside County Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program First Time Home Buyer Program (PLHA FTHB) is designed to provide assistance to lower income persons in the purchase of their first home. The Program is administered by the Housing and Workforce Solutions (HWS). Assistance may be provided for the down payment in the purchase of a home. The amount of assistance available depends upon the buyer’s qualifications and the price of the home.

In general, a buyer may only receive up to 20% of the purchase price of the home. The maximum down payment cannot exceed $100,000.00 For more information, please contact Riverside County at 951-374-3098 or click here.

To sign up for updates regarding this project click here.