What Makes A City?

By K.P. Sander

Eastvale – Ever wonder what makes a city a city? From Jamestown to Eastvale (from the Garden of Eden, really), people have been setting up towns, cities, counties, states, districts and countries in an effort to hang up that “Home Sweet Home” sign and make a life.

It used to be, you pioneered your way to a spot you liked, pitched a tent, and started building a home. Someone else came along, liked your idea, and became your neighbor, and so on. Eventually brains were challenged by brawn and the hierarchy established itself.

Our very own mayor, Ike Bootsma, comes from a pedigree of Dutch settlers who had that pioneering spirit that said, “What if…?”

Nowadays, as with Eastvale, pretty sure you don’t just stick a flag in the ground and declare it a city. You need a visionary to see it, a mayor to govern it, a manager to care for it, laws to protect it, engineers to build it, amenities to keep it and citizens to live it.

It’s a bit of a privilege to live in Eastvale. One of the babies of Riverside County, it was officially incorporated in October of 2010. Eastvale’s much older siblings surround it with a lot of experience and history – Norco was established in 1964, Corona in 1886, Ontario in 1891, and Chino in 1910. Although Eastvale is peppered with nostalgia, there are not many hand-me-downs; everything is brand new, as is apparent by all the new homes, shops, restaurants and businesses coming to life throughout the city (read “Here We Grow Again” for details). It’s exciting to watch a city actually grow up all around you.

But what actually makes a city work? Where does the money come from, and who decides what happens?

Cities are governed by elected officials – a mayor and council members. They function in a congressional style, proposing bills, holding votes, and passing laws to keep the city on track with its own strategic goals and objectives and in alignment with state and federal regulations. Eastvale specifically strives to establish a solid fiscal foundation, optimize economic development potential, maintain an excellent level of public safety, and provide high quality public facilities and infrastructure, as stated in their Annual Operations document.

In general, cities make money from taxes and fees charged to residents and businesses (licenses, vehicle registration, fines, sales tax), and a portion of property taxes. In 2011, Eastvale, along with Jurupa Valley, Menifee and Wildomar lost approximately $14 million overall when California Legislature voted to redirect vehicle license fee revenues from the city income to law enforcement grants. While this could potentially be the end of Jurupa Valley’s incorporation, Eastvale seems to remain stable.

Eastvale’s Mission Statement reads: “The mission of Eastvale is to provide exceptional customer service to its citizens and businesses and to continue to attract new businesses to invest and locate in order to build a strong, stable community with an excellent quality of life and a vital business community.” It appears Eastvale has done an excellent job of staying true to its goals in its short life. As you look all around the City you see signs of a thriving present, and a bright future.

Refer to this table for a comparison between Eastvale and Diamond Bar, a city of similar size and population. What Makes A City Spreadsheet