City Administrator

Location: Riverside

The City of Riverside (1,068) is offering an exceptional opportunity for leadership in a unique and growing community.

Riverside is poised for growth due to its positioning along the 4-lane Avenue of the Saints/US Highway 218 just 15 miles from central Iowa City. However, it is also the home of the $90 million Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, which welcomes 1.5 million visitors per year. Riverside is the "future birthplace" of Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek (his birth is expected March 22, 2228), and is poised for tourism growth in this area as well.

Riverside Casino & Golf Resort greatly benefits the City of Riverside and the surrounding area in terms of sales tax, hotel/motel tax, and gaming tax revenue, direct payments, and additional grant opportunities through its nonprofit sponsor, the Washington County Riverboat Foundation. The vast majority of these funds are being used for capital improvements to provide for the long-term growth and improvement of Riverside.

Riverside is located in the far northeastern portion of Washington County, population 23,000, directly adjacent to Johnson County, home of the University of Iowa, and one of Iowa's fastest-growing counties.

Recent Accomplishments

CDBG Downtown Revitalization project that transformed 6 deteriorated downtown properties into functional historic commercial spaces.

Riverside Wellness Center, a 30,000 sq. ft. public recreation facility that received 74.7% bond referendum voter approval and is scheduled for bidding in Fall of 2026.

Modernized operational workflows by increasing the use of technology, updating city codes and policies, and optimizing operations for resident experience and staff efficiency.

Multiple water utility projects; wastewater treatment and sewer improvements.

Various street replacement projects.

Parks and Recreation projects, such as pickleball courts, a boat ramp, playground

equipment, and the Captain Kirk Birthplace pocket park.

City Government

The City of Riverside has a mayor-council with appointed city administrator form of local government. The mayor is elected every two years and the five city council members serve four year overlapping terms. All council members are elected at-large. The mayor does not vote, and the city council appoints the city administrator. The city council meets in regular session on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 6:00 p.m. There is one council member currently serving under special appointment and there is a special election for the Council vacancy in September 2026.

The City employs five full-time employees, including the position of City Administrator. The City's annual budget for Fiscal Year 2027 is $10,484,313, excluding transfers between funds. A breakdown of budgeted FY2027 city expenditures is as follows:

Public Safety
- Police (Contract), Fire & Animal Control…...………....

$1,562,923

Public Works
- Streets, Lighting & Snow Removal……………...……

$435,245

Health & Social Services………………………………………………

$0

Culture & Recreation
- Library (Contract), Parks & Rec, Cemetery

$271,683

Community & Economic Development………………………………

$95,500

General Government……………………………………………….…

$514,390

Debt Service……………………………………………………………

$0

Capital Projects………………………………………………………...

$6,100,000

Proprietary
- Water, Sewer & Garbage (All by Contract) ……………

$1,504,572

Total

$10,484,313

The major sources of city revenues, excluding transfers, include the following:

Property Taxes…………………………………………………………

$973,085

Tax Increment Financing………………………………………………

$47,565

Gaming Wager Tax ……………………………………………………

$400,000

Local Option Sales Taxes….…………………………………………..

$165,375

Hotel/Motel Taxes……………………………………………………….

$160,000

Other/Miscellaneous Charges and Fees/Use of Money & Property…..

$772,414

Proceeds from Debt………………………………………………………

$5,000,000

Road Use Taxes……………………………………………………………

$148,400

Grants & Reimbursements………………………………………………

$283,597

Utility Charges/Enterprise Fund Revenue……………………………..

$923,400

Total

$8,873,836

The City's current tax rate is $8.01980 per $1,000 valuation. Total fund balances estimated for 6/30/26 are $6,526,736. The City has no outstanding general obligation nor revenue debt.

Riverside's city departments include:
Fire, Streets/Parks, Water/Sewer, and…