What's up with Riverside's citywide Wi-Fi network?

According to Steve Reneker, CIO of Riverside (CA), AT&T wants to give the citywide Wi-Fi network that AT&T and MetroFi deployed in May 2007 back to the city, but the city council must decide on 16 March 2010 whether to agree.

It is controversial: the city must pay for the cost of maintaining the network which provides free access in Riverside. The Inland Empire, as the region is called, has been hard hit by the economic crisis. Riverside's official unemployment rate is 14.3 percent. The unofficial rate is much higher. The city is under severe budget constraints, and so are its residents, resulting in a tug of war where many residents want to continue enjoying their free Wi-Fi service but others want the city to spend the money on other matters.