The City of Riverside will not have to find a new mayor. Mayor Allen Schneider originally planned on resigning at a special city council meeting on August 25th, though after some consideration, he decided to take a 30 day leave of absence to consider whether he wanted to remain in his position. When the 30 days was up, Schneider decided to return to city hall, still as Riverside’s mayor. In his absence, Councilman Ralph Schnoebelen served as Mayor Pro Tem, and he indicated the city operations progressed smoothly without Schneider. However, Schnoebelen said the council was happy Schneider decided to return.

While Schneider didn’t initially say why he was considering resignation, Schnoebelen indicated there were several factors. Chiefly among those was his brother suffering a stroke and being hospitalized. Additionally, Schnoebelen said Schneider’s full-time job at a bank was getting more time-consuming due to acquisitions of new banks, which created a lot of travel. All of those factors led Schneider to question whether he could devote the time needed to serve as the city’s mayor. After getting his affairs in order, and his brother reportedly improving, Schneider had a change of heart and resumed the duties of mayor, including leading the most recent city council meeting.