Mayor and Council,

I oppose approving this City Attorney contract as written. This is not about the individual candidate. This is about whether this Council is protecting the taxpayers of Riverside.

The agreement calls this an at-will employment agreement, but when you read the actual terms, it is not true at-will employment in any practical sense. It gives the employee a three-year term, a salary of $372,624 per year, Executive Group benefits, vacation, administrative leave, deferred compensation, professional expenses, and then adds a taxpayer-funded severance package if the Council terminates the agreement while the employee is ready and able to work.

That is not a clean at-will agreement. That is a one-sided executive contract.

The most troubling provision is the severance clause. If the Council decides to terminate without cause, the City must pay a lump-sum cash payment equal to twelve months of the employee’s salary plus the applicable 401(a) contribution. That means Riverside taxpayers could be required to pay a full year of compensation simply because this Council made another poor Charter Officer hiring decision.

Given this Council’s recent history with Charter Officer hiring, management, resignations, removals, and costly employment decisions, the public should not be asked to absorb that kind of risk again.

The contract also makes termination for cause harder than it should be. It requires a supermajority vote — five affirmative votes — to terminate for cause, while termination without cause appears to trigger the severance obligation. That creates a practical incentive to pay someone to leave rather than hold them accountable. That is bad contract drafting, and it is bad governance.

If this is truly an at-will position, then make it at will. Remove the twelve-month severance. Remove any golden parachute. Remove provisions that shift the cost of Council mistakes onto the taxpayers. The City should pay final wages, accrued lawful leave, and benefits actually earned — nothing more.

I also object to approving this level of compensation without a clear public presentation of the total cost. The public should see the full package: salary, CalPERS or retirement impacts, deferred compensation, leave accruals, professional expenses, benefits, insurance, car or auto allowances, and the full severance exposure.

This Council has repeatedly asked Riverside residents for more taxes, higher fees, and more trust. But trust is earned. It is not earned by rushing another high-dollar executive agreement that protects the employee better than it protects the City.

I urge you to continue this item, amend the contract, remove the severance pay, make the agreement truly at will, and bring it back only after the full taxpayer cost and risk are disclosed to the public.

Do not approve this contract as written. Protect Riverside first.