Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Inspector General topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riverside council approves creation of Office of the Inspector General, 6–1
Summary
The Riverside City Council voted 6–1 to create an Office of the Inspector General and authorized a departmental transfer to fund initial staffing, after debate over independence, delegation thresholds and overlap with the ethics board.
Mayor Patricia Lacdoussen opened debate and council members heard a presentation from Brennan Goldman, the city’s director of human resources, on a charter-mandated Office of the Inspector General.
Goldman outlined proposed ordinance changes that would add a new section (2.09) to the Riverside Municipal Code, create a classification for an inspector general and support staff, and establish salary ranges and an initial operating budget. Goldman said staff recommended a departmental transfer of $1,147,000 from the General Fund to seed the new office.
Councilmember Cervantes pressed staff on operational details and the ordinance’s $25,000 delegated authority threshold for retaining outside counsel. Cervantes said the threshold reflected a desire to preserve council oversight while enabling the inspector general to retain external legal support in conflict situations. “Si el inspector general determina por si hay una investigación… tiene la capacidad de sobrepasarlos si es necesario,” Cervantes said, describing contingency for extraordinary circumstances.
Other councilmembers discussed whether the new office would duplicate the ethics board’s work. One councilmember warned that the ethics board might be made redundant once an independent inspector general is in place; several members said the office’s independence and investigative remit justified moving forward.
After deliberation the council voted to authorize the creation of the Office of the Inspector General, the associated ordinance language changes, and the interdepartmental transfer cited in the staff presentation. The motion passed 6–1.
Next steps: staff will return with final ordinance language and implementation details for the newly authorized office and the corresponding personnel actions.
