Riverside City Manager Mike Futrell has agreed to step down, capping off months of political turmoil in the Inland Empire’s largest city.

Futrell has resigned from the role effective July 5, the city announced Tuesday after the City Council met behind closed doors.

In a statement posted to social media, Futrell called his departure “part of a mutually agreed upon leadership transition.”

“I leave with gratitude for the privilege of serving and with great confidence in the city’s future,” he wrote.

Futrell has been placed on paid administrative leave until his departure date, and the city has agreed to pay him severance in a lump sum equivalent to nine months of his regular salary and retirement contributions, as well as one month of health benefits, Riverside Mayor Pro Tem Steven Robillard reported at the public portion of Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

It was the second time Futrell has announced he’s leaving the city in recent months, his last departure upended by a political kerfuffle involving his wife and Riverside City Hall staff. In April, he said he’d accepted a job as city manager of Pasadena but did an about-face after the emergence of a letter in which the Riverside City Council accused his wife, Susan Freeman, of harassing municipal employees. She denies the allegations.

Freeman filed a government claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, over the letter last week, alleging the city investigated her without due process in retaliation for her social-media criticism of the Trump administration. She agreed to drop the claim Tuesday, signing a settlement agreement and release of claims.

“This experience has tested me, changed me, and reminded me of the importance of standing firmly in one’s truth while also recognizing when it is time to close a door,” Freeman wrote in a statement posted to social media.

Futrell’s departure comes as Riverside officials face criticism over the city’s handling of an internal investigation alleging two of its senior code enforcement officers engaged in physical altercations with street vendors and improperly seized their property — and that supervisors retaliated against a whistleblower who reported the conduct.

City officials are also grappling with voters’ rejection of a ballot measure to increase and extend the city sales tax, which officials had said they wanted to use to fund an overhaul of the fire department. Some observers described the vote as a referendum on city leadership.

Futrell has served as city manager since 2023 and is credited with leading Riverside out of the post-COVID era, according to a news release issued by the city the first time he announced he was leaving. He expanded economic development efforts and helped advance several major projects, including a new library, police department headquarters and agricultural innovation center, the release states.

But Futrell also faced setbacks. He recently presented a city budget proposal containing nearly $18 million in cuts, citing slowing revenue growth and rising payroll, pension and other costs.

In a statement, Robillard thanked Futrell for his service.

“Riverside has tremendous momentum, and I remain optimistic about the direction of our city,” he wrote.

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