City Opens Search for Inspector General, a New Watchdog Role

Riverside this month launched its search for its first inspector general – a role that will investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and inefficiency across city government.

Recruitment opened March 3, Human Resources Director Miriana Gonzalez said at a City Council meeting that day.

Responsibilities for the role include reviewing public complaints and overseeing investigations, audits, inspections and performance evaluations across city departments, according to city recruitment materials.

The candidate will be selected by the mayor and city council, and report directly to those offices, but maintain its own independent operation, according to the city charter.

It will have full access to city records, the ability to place items on the council's agenda, and the authority to make recommendations for council action.

The role requires at least eight years of executive or management-level experience in legal, criminal, administrative or investigative work, as well as a bachelor's degree in public administration or a law enforcement field – though an advanced degree or certifications in audits or fraud examination is "highly desirable," according to the job listing. The salary for this role will range between $160,896 and $217,212 annually.

After recruitment closes April 5, 2026, it can take an average of four to six months to go through the interviewing and selection process, according to a city spokesperson.

Once chosen, the Council will approve the employment agreement in an open session meeting.

The City Council voted 6-1 in November 2025 to create the role of the inspector general one year after 64% of Riversiders voted in support of the office's creation through Measure L.

Councilmember Steve Robillard, who led the subcommittee tasked with creating the role, said that the committee took its time to define the role's parameters.

"A lot of planning, a lot of effort went into defining what the role is, making sure we had the right ideal candidate criteria, and that's why the process took so long," he said at the March 3 meeting.

Robillard told the Gazette that "this is not a ceremonial position."

"[The inspector general] is intended to be an active, oversight-driven role with real authority and responsibility," he said. "What I expect from this role is straightforward. Identify problems, follow the facts, and provide actionable recommendations that improve how the city operates. If implemented correctly, the Office of the Inspector General will strengthen accountability, improve efficiency, and reinforce public confidence in local government."

Councilmember Philip Falcone – who wrote the ballot argument against Measure L and cast the only dissenting vote against creating the role – has criticized the role, calling it "expensive, untested, and unnecessary."

Other critics question whether the role can provide independent oversight.

"[The office is] carefully packaged layer of bureaucracy that gives city hall a new talking point while preserving the same political control that has frustrated transparency and weakened ethics enforcement for years," Keith J. Nelson, Ph.D., who served on the Riverside Ethics Board for eight years, wrote in a March 6 post.

Nelson said the appointed — not elected — structure "is the entire issue."

"That means the same political body that may one day be scrutinized by the Inspector General also controls the appointment structure and much of the office's functional reach," Nelson said. "You do not create independent oversight by placing it inside the chain of political influence. You create managed oversight. And managed oversight is how institutions protect themselves while claiming reform."

By Micaela Ricaforte