The city of Riverside said it plans to reform its Community and Economic Development Department (CEDD) after a 14-month internal investigation, made public last week, found the former director created a hostile work environment and former City Manager Mike Futrell contributed “through his actions and inaction.”
“These findings are deeply concerning and make clear that action is necessary,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement. “Our employees and residents deserve a city government that operates with professionalism, integrity and respect, and we are committed to earning and maintaining that trust.”
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The mayor, at the June 9 city council meeting, said CEDD’s work environment was toxic and called on the city to hire an independent consultant to help reform the department.
The mayor’s office, in a document shared with the council members this week, said the city would take four steps in response to reports about CEDD: Conduct an independent organizational review of the department, continue implementation of corrective actions within code division, standardize best management practices and establish clear protocols for sharing personnel investigations.
“Actions already underway include reinforcing organizational expectations, improving communication and supervisory practices, documenting and standardizing staff training and professional development, and engaging employees in efforts to strengthen workplace culture and customer service,” the document said.
This recent directive came days after the public release of a 901-page city-commissioned investigation, conducted by Nevins Professional Investigations, that documented how a 2024 human resources survey found CEDD faced an unprecedented employee satisfaction crisis. Fewer than half of employees reported feeling comfortable being themselves in the workplace in 2024, a 28% drop from two years prior. It also found that just 29% of employees felt comfortable speaking up, and a little more than half were considering leaving the workplace within the next year.
The downward trend coincided with former director Jennifer Lilley’s December 2022 hiring. In 2024, the report said several anonymous and formal complaints were submitted in 2024 regarding Lilley’s management style.
The Riverside Record was unable to reach Lilley for comment.
The investigator interviewed multiple witnesses and reviewed documents — including communications provided by Lilley — and concluded the evidence “overwhelmingly” established she violated multiple city policies.
“These policy violations were not isolated incidents, but represented Lilley’s consistent management approach characterized by hostility, retaliation, disregard for employee rights and lack of integrity,” the report stated.
The report also found that Futrell contributed to creating the hostile work environment. The report added he dismissed the anonymous complaints, gave preferential treatment to Lilley and “created a retaliatory environment” for other CEDD employees.
“The evidence establishes that City Manager Mike Futrell violated city policies and state law,” the report said. “These violations are supported by Futrell’s own statements during his administrative interview, statements from numerous witnesses, survey results and documentary evidence.”
Futrell denied the allegations of violating city policies and state law at the end of a November 2025 interview, according to the report. In a June 20 statement in response to the report, Futrell again denied the allegations, adding he reviewed it for the first time and was not given an opportunity to respond before publication.
In response to dismissing anonymous complaints, he said staff told him the anonymous complaints lacked sufficient evidence and their anonymity made it difficult to respond to and begin an investigation. He added that his decisions regarding employee transfers were to address financial pressures and not in retaliation.
“Importantly, the report itself states that its conclusions concerning potential policy violations are the author’s opinions and are not binding on the city,” Futrell said, noting his departure was not at all related to the report. “I served Riverside honorably, passionately and with integrity for three and one-half years, and I remain grateful for that opportunity.”
In response to a question from The Record regarding Futrell’s assertion that the report had no impact on his decision to resign, Public Information Officer Phil Pitchford said Futrell voluntarily stepped down.
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