CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW SCOTT BARBER RETIREMENT LETTER
According to a City of Riverside News Release by Communications Officer Phil Pitchord, City Manager Scott Barber announces his intention to retire. While caught in the wild fire in the trumped up investigations of two councilman, Barber came with more than 28 years of experience in local government and has been City Manager in Riverside since Dec. 6, 2011. He previously served as Riverside’s first Community Development Director for six years. Barber was hired on by former City Manager Brad Hudson. The news release states that Barber will retire at years end, which would be December 2014.
CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW NEWS RELEASE OF CM SCOTT BARBER’S INTENTION TO RETIRE
Mayor Rusty Bailey said the following, “On behalf of the residents and businesses of Riverside, I want to thank Scott Barber for the last nine years of service to our community.” “Scott has been a focused and innovative City Manager and Community Development Director who always has looked for ways to improve the City where he lives and has raised a family. I wish him and his family all the best in his retirement.”
CITY MANAGER SCOTT BARBER
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Perry said, “First, I want to thank Scott for his service and leadership,” “Second, I appreciate his acknowledgement of the current environment at City Hall and his offer to leave behind the issues of the past and move us all forward. Finally, it will be important that the City Council work quickly to identify an interim City Manager to manage the organization, while we focus on filling the vacancies in both the City Manager and City Attorney positions. I will begin to work right away with my Council colleagues on identifying and attracting an interim City Manager.”
According to the Press Enterprise they state that several city officials and residents had nothing but praise for Barber, who came into what some observers say was a difficult position. He took over from former Brad Hudson, a polarizing figure who orchestrated the biggest public works initiative in city history that also carried a hefty debt. That’s funny the City never discussed the hefty debt publicly, after residential watchdogs have been bringing this to the attention of council. City officials are now calling Hudson a “polarizing figure” when he left, he was the best next to ‘cream cheese.” Even then Councilman Rusty Bailey, called Hudson his ‘moral compass.” The city’s hypocrisy has no end..
Getting back to Scott Barber and all the wonderful things he states he did in his letter. Phil Pitchford, Intergovernmental and Communications Director for the City of Riverside states many wonderful things as well. Pitchford, incidentally, worked 18 years for the Press Enterprise as a journalist. But it may not be good business to expressly tell the truth.. Back in 2010, Scott Barber approved a $2.5 million change order for the Fox Performance Plaza, without City Council Approval! This violates every policy and procedure that the City Manager should abide by. This my friends, is where City Manager Scott Barber should have been FIRED! This is where is clearly over stepped his bounds as City Manager and his ethical integrity, but went ahead and did it anyway. Either he was unknowledgable of City rules or all together simply unqualified to understand the severity of the overall picture. So when City Council members continue to ignore it, they are in denial, this my taxpayer friends is the cusp of the problem!
CLICK TO VIEW FULL PDF VERSION
What about the Hyatt debacle, they are suing the City of Riverside for “extortion.” A simple instant of how the City Manager handles money is the following.. The amount of $1407.91 may not be a lot for the City of Riverside, but it is a lot of money for many in the City…this amount remains unclaimed!
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Nothing said about the $200,000.00 approved and $49 increments by the City Manger to investigate two councilman, Soubirous and Davis, which he claimed they caused a hostile work environment for him. The Sobirious hearing turned out to be a complete sham and debacle. City Manager Scott Barber cares nothing about the taxpayer, he cares only of his own welfare. I ask his for a cashiers check for $200K to pay back the taxpayer for this nonsense.
One of our commenters Fay Vic made a good point regarding a statement on City Manger Scott Barber’s letter, whereby he states that he will be “dropping all my employment claims upon retirement to allow both the city and myself to move forward with a fresh start.” This statement actually brings up more questions. This no doubt questions Barber’s ethical integrity. His intentions have always lied in favor of himself, and what he could get out of the taxpayer, and not for the benefit of the taxpayer, unfortunately. This was evident in the two investigations of Councilmen’s Soubirious and Davis. Whereby for his interest, he felt it necessary to spend in excess of $200,000.00 in an investigation that dealt nothing, but an expense to the taxpayer. Barber cared nothing about the taxpayer, who will now pay his excessive retirement package. Now with exposure of claim or law suit against the City/taxpayer, he just seems to continue to be a whining about his job conditions, when in reality he was not qualified. The only thing that Barber was able to “ferret” out, was what is good for Barber. Didn’t we hear the same appraisals and hive-fives for former City Manager Brad Hudson? A manager who could not even pay for his own cup of coffee, and turned it in as an expense for the taxpayer to pay. We all know where Hudson’s legacy will leave the taxpayer…in debt. A debt that will compromise are own city utilities. Remember “you own it” but it may not be for long.
Commenter to TMC, Fay Vic, states the following, In his letter to the Council, Mr. Barber states, “To help the City turn the page on the past, I will also be dropping all my employment claims upon my retirement to allow both the City and me to move forward will a fresh start.”
What employment claims did Mr. Barber make? Is he talking about his complaint that was investigated by Gumport|Mastan, or did he make actual, official claims with the city, the State, or a federal agency? Perhaps 30 Miles should investigate this a bit further….public records request perhaps?
There are rumors that Barber is “retiring” (public employees vest with CalPERS, but never seem to really retire, instead preferring to “double dip” somewhere else, laughing at us in the private sector) in December because that’s when he hits some milestone towards receiving a spike in his pension. Any truth to this?
If Barber has threatened legal action (direct or implied) against the city AND he’s approaching such a milestone, then it would appear he is trying to entice the city into letting him retire in lieu of being fired, in return for him dropping current or potential legal action, most likely some derivative of the complaints he made against Councilmen Soubirous and Davis.
Since we know those complaints were just disguised vendettas and had no legitimate basis, I would call his bluff. Let him fight for his supposed “just deserts,” like all the whisteblower employees he fired, ran out of town, or harmed in some other fashion. If the karma police ran the show, this would happen. Instead we have our City Council, who will again demonstrate for us little people how there are two sets of rules in Riverside – one for them, and one for us.
AGAIN, THANK ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT WE ARE PROUD OF OUR ONE STAR RATING! THANK YOU RIVERSIDE!
TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S MOST “SLANDEROUS” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE! TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED. I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU. RATED ONE TWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS.. TMC IS NOW EXCLUSIVLY EXCLUSIVELY ON FILE WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (WE BELIEVE THIS WILL END SOON, SINCE THE FOCUS IS NOW ON THE IMPROPRIETIES OF MR. “Z”, WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT NOBODY LISTENED), AND DON’T FORGET WE ARE PROSSIBLY POSSIBLY ON FILE WITH THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE’S POTENTIAL SLAPP SUIT LIST… A STRATEGIC LEGAL MANEUVER THAT CAN BE DONE ONLY IN RIVERSIDE WITHOUT A CONTRACT, WE WILL HAVE TO ASK GREGORY ABOUT THAT ONE ( OUR PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO CONTACT HIS PEOPLE)… AGAIN, THANK-YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT! COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY SPELL CHECKERS! WE JUST CAN’T SPELL! EMAIL ANONYMOUSLY WITH YOUR DIRT BY CONTACTING US AT: THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM
jehunter51
TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption 
Does anyone think he will actually retire?? Or will he just take another city manager job in another city? Cities are always looking for managers, and they pay a lot of money.
Yep, he’s been in the hot seat with reference to his performance this year. I believe Barber was attempting to swing leverage his way in order in insure he received his pension at years end. While the atmosphere at hand was to fire him prior. I would imagine the City struck up an agreement to insure his retirement, rather than firing.
In his letter to the Council, Mr. Barber states, “To help the City turn the page on the past, I will also be dropping all my employment claims upon my retirement to allow both the City and me to move forward will a fresh start.”
What employment claims did Mr. Barber make? Is he talking about his complaint that was investigated by Gumport|Mastan, or did he make actual, official claims with the city, the State, or a federal agency? Perhaps 30 Miles should investigate this a bit further….public records request perhaps?
There are rumors that Barber is “retiring” (public employees vest with CalPERS, but never seem to really retire, instead preferring to “double dip” somewhere else, laughing at us in the private sector) in December because that’s when he hits some milestone towards receiving a spike in his pension. Any truth to this?
If Barber has threatened legal action (direct or implied) against the city AND he’s approaching such a milestone, then it would appear he is trying to entice the city into letting him retire in lieu of being fired, in return for him dropping current or potential legal action, most likely some derivative of the complaints he made against Councilmen Soubirous and Davis.
Since we know those complaints were just disguised vendettas and had no legitimate basis, I would call his bluff. Let him fight for his supposed “just deserts,” like all the whisteblower employees he fired, ran out of town, or harmed in some other fashion. If the karma police ran the show, this would happen. Instead we have our City Council, who will again demonstrate for us little people how there are two sets of rules in Riverside – one for them, and one for us.
Excellent point Fay Vic, we’ll have delve into what Barber means by “dropping all my employment claims upon retirement to allow both the city and myself to move forward with a fresh start.” It brings up more questions. Problems with the pension system and retirement age is that it allows public workers to collect early, but still allowing them to start up a new job somewhere else, hence, “double dipping.” I call it a scam perpetrated by a few within the policy and procedure that allow this to occur against the taxpayer. We also thought he may have strategically placed the city in an awkward position whereby legal action could by option by him, thus giving him political leverage. We believe the same with Chief Sergio Diaz.
Now that City Attorney Gregory Priamos and Deputy City Attorney Jeb Brown have left, and City Manager Scott Barber will retire at the end of the year, the collective scumbag at City Hall is getting smaller and smaller. Hopefully, forthcoming criminal charges against Mayor Rusty Bailey, Deputy City Attorney Rahman Gerren and Councilmen Steve Adams, Jim Perry, Mike Garner, Chris MacArthur, and Andy Melendrez will eventually cause the scumbag to burst and all that code-enforcement corruption and criminal activities to spill out. Otherwise, code-enforcement harassment, unlawful seizure of personal and real property under color of law, and other deceptive practices adopted by the City of Riverside will continue. May the people of Riverside rise up and take their city back from these corrupt elected officials, so-called public servants, and their appointed cronies
Good point Erika, we as residents can hold accountable the actions of our elected officials. The way are government is set up, it is “We the People” that need to act. We simply trust are elects, but also need to be knowledgeable in order to oversee our government. Otherwise, they who see fit will take over. Our system of government wasn’t set up to be easy, but if you believe in freedom and to hold those accountable, “We the People” need to know enough in order to make a difference.
A Chief Justice told me in law school ” every word means something”. Now Barber still has problems as the council used the misdemeanor charge. As Barber said he is dropping all employment claims it still leaves the victims with defamation charge. The Mayor and his team took this to far and cost the taxpayers thousands because he wanted two Councilmen removed. Poor City Attorney advise. Barber falling on the sword for the Mayor and his partners wont work. Smart move to recall the Mayor and his partners should be gone too.
Looks like Zellerbach’s lawsuit may be coming to the end. And yes, it is reported by PE:
Union chief’s lawsuit against Zellerbach, county may end soon
A lawsuit filed by the head of Riverside County’s prosecutors’ union, claiming he was transferred to Indio because he supported challenger Michael Hestrin over incumbent District Attorney Paul Zellerbach in the June 3 election, may soon be resolved amicably.
http://www.pe.com/articles/zellerbach-749945-lawsuit-district.html
Thank you Justice League..saw that I will place a link on the main page!
And let’s not forget that the Deputy DA filed a lawsuit against Zellerbach. Zellerbach violated his civil rights. The Board of Sups are trying to pour cold water on this lawsuit. Makes you wonder how much it will cost the county to settle. The Deputy DA won’t have any piece of mind until Mike Hestin is sworn in.
Interesting nugget on PE reporting on this article. Thanks Alicia!:
“The city hasn’t yet disclosed the total cost of either investigation, though the Davis one may still be in limbo, even though the city manager plans to drop his complaint when he retires – but that’s another story.”
http://www.pe.com/articles/city-749937-council-manager.html
So, Barber is dropping his complaint?? Sorry, Barber, it is too little too late since city wasted taxpayers’ money on a bogus investigation against Paul Davis. Still on hearing on Davis’ investigation. And Davis’ ethic complaint against Bailey really shaked the boots off of Barber that made him getting out of dodge of his job by retiring. But, the Davis’ bogus probe won’t go away for Barber regardless of his retirement announcement. I wonder if Davis going to take legal action against Barber.
Correction: Still no hearing on Davis’ investigation.
I have only one question to the people of riverside, if the people of riverside wants to end all this why doesn’t anyone come forward as a union and end this, between all the information i see on line and everywhere i look (is) enough to bring them down ,, I’m truly concerned about my country men and women out there,, and now it brings to mind one more question,, what must be done to make everyone see that now is the time !! Because if it’s not now then were know better then them to just stand by and watch as they take everything i ever worked for and take from the ones that we as familys try to give to our kids and their future in this city ,, I HAVE TO SAY , I’M NOT HAPPY ABOUT ANY OF THIS ,, it’s to a point now where i think the public wants this ,, and wants nothing for their familys because no one will do anything to change this ,, i also feel that this battle is a losing battle and i think there’s to much talk and not enough fight ,, wow .. pick your battles people or turn your head !!