Riverside City Council Releases Second Legal Opinion Regarding Mayor’s Attempted Veto
Published: 02/23/18
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feb. 23, 2018
Contact:
Phil Pitchford
Communications Officer
951-826-5975
Riverside City Council Releases Second Legal Opinion Regarding Mayor’s Attempted Veto
Council fulfills promise to provide public with opinion mirroring that of City Attorney Gary Geuss
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Riverside City Council today released a legal opinion from a law firm that supports an earlier opinion from City Attorney Gary Geuss that Mayor Rusty Bailey did not have the authority to attempt to veto a contract extension the City Council approved for City Manager John Russo on Feb. 6.
Geuss initially issued his opinion on Feb. 6 after the Council approved a contract extension for Russo and after Mayor Bailey said he was vetoing the decision. That led to a discussion between the Mayor, the City Attorney and the City Council regarding whether the Mayor had such authority.
The City Council voted 4-2 on Tuesday (2/20) to confirm its belief that Geuss was correct when he issued an opinion during the Feb. 6 meeting that employment agreements between the City and its charter officers are within the sole purview of the City Council. City Councilmember Steve Adams was absent.
During that meeting, the City Council agreed to release the supporting opinion from the law firm of Colantuono, Highsmith and Whatley. It did so today, and the opinion can be found at: https://www.riversideca.gov/sites/default/files/press/pdf/Colantuano%20o...
