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Town Hall · Riverside

How Riverside is run

Riverside spent $2.5 million in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,118 per resident.

Town website
City budget
$2.5 million
spent, year to September 30, 2024
Per resident
$1,118
Below typical Alabama cities ($2,292)
Long-term debt
$1.4 million
$636 per resident
City staff
11
full-time · 9 part-time
Typical tax bill
$894
a year · AL $788

What stands out about how Riverside is run

Read from the town’s budget, meetings and records. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Your share of the budget

About $1,118 per resident a year, or $3.06 a day

The biggest line: water & other utilities, at 31% of spending.

Where the money comes from
Utility sales 41%Sales taxes 34%Property taxes 12%Other taxes & licenses 10%Interest, fines & other 2%From the state 1%
The school district

Pell City City School District

Riverside’s K–12 school district, shared with Pell City. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.

Schools in Riverside →
$12,818
per pupil · AL $13,926
4,152
students
$30.6 million
long-term debt

Of the $12,818 per pupil, $7,416 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.

The district: schools, scores and graduation →

Where the district’s money comes from
Local 28%State 60%Federal 12%

Alabama districts overall: 31% local, 53% state, 16% federal.

School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.

Over the years

Per resident, spending is up 228% since 2022

Spending per resident, by fiscal year. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.

Spending per resident by year

2022$341
2024$1,118
$2.5 million
spent in 2024
$810,000
spent in 2022

* A Census Bureau estimate for that year (the town didn’t report most of its figures).

Who runs it

Who’s in charge in Riverside

Local officials aren’t in the public records we use for Riverside yet. Neighbors can add them.

Who works for Riverside

One full-time town employee for every 203 residents

On the payroll in March 2022.

By department full-time, plus part-time

Police5 + 3 pt
Water & other utilities4
Fire0 + 6 pt
Administration & buildings2
11
full-time
9
part-time
$50,500
average full-time pay, before benefits
5
sworn police officers

Pay is March payroll times twelve, so it’s approximate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.

Property tax

The typical homeowner pays $894 a year

Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.41% of the home’s value, vs 0.38% across Alabama.

What homes cost →

Typical yearly bill next door and statewide

Riverside$894
Pell City$846
Alabama$788
$894
typical bill a year
0.41%
effective rate
$220,500
typical home value (Census)
Your own bill

The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Riverside’s rate.

Can I afford it? →

The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.

Next door

How Riverside’s budget compares

Town budgets across the town line. Towns that run their own schools spend more. Tap a town to see its Town Hall.

Spends the leastSpends the mostNo figures
TownSpent per residentDebt per residentTax bill
Riverside$1,118$636$894
Pell City$1,842$3,842$846

The town government’s own spending in its newest year (often a Census Bureau estimate). — = no figures.

Who represents Riverside

From town hall to Washington

Every level of government that speaks for Riverside.

Politics & elections →
  1. 1
    Your cityMayor & council
    Local officials aren’t on record yet.
  2. 2
    Alabama HouseState representatives
  3. 3
    Alabama SenateState senator
  4. 4
    GovernorStatewide
  5. 5
    U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
  6. 6
    U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Alabama

Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.

Reach Riverside’s government

Numbers and hours come from neighbors and the town’s own site (the Handbook). A new one goes live once two neighbors confirm it.

The Handbook →
Official websiteriverside-al.com ↗

Questions about how Riverside is run?

Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Does Riverside get good value for its tax dollars?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. School district: Census school finance survey. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 5-year estimates. Representatives: Open States, the Census and congress-legislators.

Post to Riverside

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Add to the handbook

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