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City manager urges patience as callers urge review; council hears office highlights
Summary
Public commenters urged Riverside Council to review City Manager Mike Futrell’s conduct while the manager highlighted office accomplishments and asked that 'judgment be reserved' until the factual record is complete.
RIVERSIDE — Public comment at the Riverside City Council meeting on May 5 centered on the future and performance of City Manager Mike Futrell, while Futrell used his department overview to highlight grants, economic development projects and operational milestones.
During public comment, several residents called for different outcomes: Keith Nelson told the council the closed‑session evaluation of the city manager demonstrates "a leadership failure, a workplace failure, a public trust failure" and urged the body to "relieve [Futrell] for cause," citing what he described as public records and a certified letter sent to "Susie Freeman" warning of staff‑directed harassment. Other callers, including Nathan Kemp and Art Alcaraz, voiced support for Futrell’s leadership and pointed to the creation of a unified Housing and Human Services structure and increased housing placements as reasons to retain him.
The city manager acknowledged the controversy but warned against premature conclusions. "Judgment should be reserved until the full factual record is available," Futrell said, adding that he "welcomes accountability, I welcome transparency, but accountability must be grounded in facts, not assumptions, not rumors and not incomplete narratives." He declined to litigate personal matters from the podium and framed his remarks around the work of the city manager’s office and the organization’s results.
Futrell’s office presentation outlined a range of priorities and claimed results: more than $4.8 billion in projects in the pipeline, approximately $40 million in new grants secured last year, federal earmarks and work on major projects including the Riverside Sports Entertainment District and infrastructure investments. He also described sustainability and public‑safety milestones, including work to address PFOS in the water system and progress toward LEED Platinum city recognition.
Council members and members of the public pressed for more detail at various points. Callers and commenters also raised related issues: procurement oversight and transparency (requests to inspect purchase orders and review consultant contracts), concerns about Measure Z and its local economic impact, and community requests for vouchers or programs to help people leaving homeless services return to their home communities.
No formal council action on the city manager’s employment occurred at the meeting; the council had adjourned earlier to closed session for personnel matters and the city attorney later reported "no reportable action" for the closed‑session items. The meeting closed with the city manager’s presentation and recognition of department staff accomplishments.
What’s next: The council’s regular meeting schedule continues; any formal personnel action would be reported in accord with Brown Act rules and the city’s agenda notices.
