Riviera Beach’s utility director, Joshua Niemann, is no longer on the job he held for less than a year.
“I am hoping that will change,” Niemann told Stet News Thursday. “The residents deserve better.”
He declined to comment further.
Niemann, who was hired as executive utility director in June 2025 after a nationwide search, stepped in after the city fired the previous utility director amid concerns about water quality and as the city embarked on a $400 million water system rebuild.
In between directors, the city hired a private company to run its water utility.
The city has not commented on Niemann’s employment status, but an agenda posted Thursday for this month’s utility district meeting lists Assistant Director Richard Gallant as the interim utility director.
A call to the utility department Thursday morning confirmed that water plant manager Garry Baker, who Niemann hired in July, is no longer with the city.
Since Wednesday night, when the City Council fired Jonathan Evans as city manager, the city has been under the control of interim City Manager Bill Wilkins, who came out of retirement to take the job.
Niemann’s departure would be the first under the city’s power shift, led by Council Member Bruce Guyton, who has replaced Shirley Lanier as council chair.
With one notable exception, Niemann has won praise from council members.
The city has been under pressure from residents and the state to shore up its failing water system. In 2024, Riviera Beach was fined $1.2 million by the Florida Department of Health over violations of water testing rules.
$679,000 purchase
The last time Niemann appeared before the council, in April, he ran afoul of one council member and the mayor for his part in the emergency purchase of a used generator for $679,000.
He reported to the board that there were multiple failures with the generator the city had rented since 2019, leaving residents vulnerable to systemwide boil-water orders.
During heavy rains in April, the rental generator failed and could not be fixed on site, Niemann said. The rental company had no replacement, he told board members.
The city has spent $2.3 million on the rental generator since the agreement began in 2019, Niemann reported. “Renting the generator any more than we already have is a mistake. We are bleeding money out of the utility,” he said.
Niemann said he worked with then Manager Evans to buy a generator built in 2024.
The mayor and then-Chair Lanier pushed back on the cost.
“This was a huge purchase,” Lanier said. “I’ve got some real heartburn with this having been bought before it was brought to us.”
In response to questions from Council Member Glenn Spiritis about the expense of a new generator, Niemann estimated it could take 18 months to secure one for $1.2 million to $1.5 million.
Spiritis noted that the used generator the city now owns could last 20 years.
The board approved the purchase in a 4-1 vote with Lanier voting no.
Before joining the city, Niemann, 41, served as assistant director of environmental services in Deerfield Beach.
Niemann hired the acting director, Gallant, in November.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
