City Council - Regular Meeting

And we are going to open up a public comment today. We have in the chambers Earl Cotswitch. Oh, hi, guys. Yes.

Oh, Clarissa, you're up there.

I am.

Oh, my goodness.

You guys are just really good.

I want to mention to you guys, the city residents passed. Can we put this on the overhead or no?

Yes, one minute, Mr. Kosovich, actually.

I love everybody, you guys. Not really, but, you know, that's the problem here, you know what I mean? Okay, can we use the... Can it go up?

Just a moment.

There we go. Okay, there we go. The city residents passed Measure L back in 2024. We're wondering what's going on with... internal auditor we need some oversight actually for I nominate Jason Hunter myself Jason Hunter should be our the private sector people want somebody in there not who you guys appoint measure L was passed by the residents by can you flip the second page There you go. Now, the percentage the Measure L was passed by was 65% of the residents that wanted an internal auditor. Now, we have a lot of issues here because the oversight has not been there, guys. Trust me. I can go on for days up here and months up here how much money you guys have stolen. So 65%, two years ago, and you guys are coming around and actually... You know, hire somebody or look into hiring somebody. I still don't understand what the problem is. As far as I'm concerned, I won't say this again, but you really all need to be in jail. You know, it's just so bad here right now. It is toxic, really toxic by the city of Riverside. 65% of the residents voted for this to have an independent auditor, not one you guys pick out. And you groom and you buy off, you bribe, you do everything pertaining to just stealing. I mean, it's insane here. I understand every city and county municipalities are allowed to do this in California because we have a governor that is corrupt as sin. He is toxic and he's a communist. I won't say what I want to say about him, but it is what it is. But you guys are actually getting around to doing something. I nominate a private citizen, which would be Jason Hunter, to oversee what you guys are stealing. It is insanity. And that's all I want to say today, guys. But you guys have a blessed day. As an American, I want you all in jail. Peaceful day. You have a good day, guys.

Okay, and looking at ahead, we do not have any other speaker cards in the chambers looking to see if we have any online. Okay, we have one caller on zoom. Can we please take the caller?

good morning mayor and council this is keith nelson ward 4. once again this council is demonstrating a troubling pattern of using special meetings to avoid the transparency public participation and accountability the riverside residents deserve special meetings are intended to address genuine emergencies or matters that could not reasonably wait that should not become a management tool for conducting important public business with reduced notice reduced public awareness and reduced scrutiny as of yesterday e-comments were turned off unfortunately this is a pattern with this group not long ago the city council waived the sunshine ordinance to rush through the hiring of a city attorney under circumstances that residents viewed as lacking transparency and meaningful public review that decision resulted in the contract that most would know would not survive public discussion or scrutiny and should have been in public because it's one of the most important decisions the council makes. Now we find ourselves here again. The special meeting concerns the recruitment of what is being described as inspector general. However, as I've documented extensively over the years in numerous public comments reports, Riverside does not need another employee who answers to the very people that they're supposed to oversee. That is not independent oversight. You guys learned that in your case against Chuck Conter. It's simply another layer of bureaucracy dressed up to look like accountability. Independent oversight only works when it's truly independent. Instead of embracing transparency, this council continues to demonstrate that it's more comfortable controlling the process than allowing the public to participate. Quite frankly, reliance on special meetings admission of failed leadership, poor planning, poor governance, and willingness to take public convenience above public trust. Leadership is not about social media posts, ribbon cuttings, or carefully staged press alerts. Leadership is about making difficult decisions in full public view. Every member on this diet campaigned on serving the people of Riverside. Service requires honesty, requires transparency, it requires ethics, and more importantly, it requires the courage to conduct the public business in public. The citizens of Riverside deserve better than hurried agenda, waived protections, and decisions that appear to be made before the public even enters the chamber, like today. I urge this council to stop using procedural shortcuts to conduct major business Restore transparency, restore independent oversight, restore the public's confidence that city council works for the taxpayers, not for itself. Riverside deserves leaders who are committed first to the city and not to themselves. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Nelson. And seeing if we have any other callers online. Okay, we're going to go ahead and close public comment and Council will now move into our closed session where we will be covering the recruitment of Inspector General by City Council and then we will come back to close out. Thank you. Looking to see if our audio tech is ready. Okay, wonderful. Wonderful. So we are returning from closed session at 12.31 p.m. and want to share that there is nothing to report out. Council will continue with the special meeting and we will reconvene tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21st at 9 a.m. Please feel free to join us then tomorrow for public comment if you'd like. Thank you. Have a great rest of your day.