Supervisor forms new community council

Residents in the unincorporated areas around Desert Hot Springs have a new way to share their concerns with Riverside County leaders.

County Supervisor Marion Ashley recently established the Desert Hot Springs Municipal Advisory Council.

Composed of five members and two alternates, the group holds regular public meetings on topics from transportation to public safety.

The local input is then shared with county supervisors.

“Anything that comes up in the area, we try to bring it up to them and get their advice on it,” Ashley said. “It's been very helpful. It's taking government closer to the people. It gives them a voice.”

Last week, supervisors appointed four people to the council, two as members and two as alternates.

The council's coverage area includes the unincorporated area of North Palm Springs. Residents must live in or have a business there.

This is the seventh municipal advisory council Ashley created in the county's fifth district.

Riverside County's fourth district, which covers most of the Coachella Valley, has similar advisory groups called community councils.

“You start hearing grassroots input you would never hear before,” Ashley said.