The Riverside City Council this week moved closer to hiring its first inspector general, fulfilling an obligation mandated by voters almost two years ago.
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The council met in back-to-back closed session meetings Monday and Tuesday to interview finalists for the role, though Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes announced there had been no reportable action either day. The council is scheduled to continue its discussion in closed session next week.
Maggie Tanner, principal human resources analyst in charge of the recruitment process, said in an email to The Riverside Record two candidates were interviewed on Monday and were brought back for a second interview on Tuesday.
In total, 25 candidates applied to the role with 10 participating in a preliminary interview. Seven candidates were presented to the council, but only five were offered an interview with the city. Three candidates withdrew from the process before the final interview stage.
“An appointment date is currently undetermined as the city council works diligently through the recruitment process,” Tanner said in the email.
Earlier this year, the city announced that it had started the recruitment process and posted the application to its website.
A brochure for the position said the city was looking for candidates with at least eight years of legal, criminal or investigative management experience. Applicants would need at least a bachelor’s degree in public administration or law enforcement-related fields but the city noted a master’s degree in auditing or fraud examination was “highly desirable.”
The job posting also listed 17 duties for the role, including reviewing citizen complaints and conducting complex internal investigations. The deadline to apply was April 5.
Recruitment company Bob Murray and Associates was hired by the city to screen qualified applicants and submit a list of finalists to the council. The city’s human resources department previously told The Record the selection process could take anywhere from four to six months once the recruitment window had closed.
The search for an inspector general is the result of the November 2024 passage of Measure L, which amended the city’s charter to create the Office of the Inspector General.
Last November, the council voted 6-1 to officially create the office, with Councilmember Philip Falcone casting the sole dissenting vote. He previously told The Record that it was a symbolic move since he had authored the ballot argument against the measure.
Pete Benavidez, who submitted an argument in favor of the ballot measure, during public comment told the council that their constituents elected them to appoint an inspector general and wished them luck with the process.
“I don’t have a problem with the time you’re taking to do this work, because this is a chance to get it right,” Benavidez said during the July 21 special meeting. “We’ll see what transpires in the years to come, and I guess your grade will [probably be] provided by the voters in future elections.”
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