KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the City Council have suspended City Manager Wayne Cauthen indefinitely after a contentious debate inside City Hall.
The mayor asked the City Council at their 3 p.m. meeting Thursday to approve his suspension.
Click Here to Watch Some Highlights of the Meeting
Council members said it would take 6 votes to approve the mayor's action. The motion passed 8 to 5 to suspend Cauthen.
In a vote to remove Cauthen from office, the mayor casted the tie-breaking vote 7-6.
Continue to the Next Page to See How Each Member of the Council Voted and to See More History on Cauthen.Prior to the meeting, the mayor sent a letter to council members on Thursday, which stated:
“Dear City Council Members:
As you know, I believe we need new leadership for the City. As of today, I am exercising the authority given to me as the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, to suspend the City Manager, effective immediately.
In the interim, the City Manager has been asked to vacate these premises immediately.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser”
The action comes on the heels of a
letter published by the Citizens Association, criticizing the mayor, city manager and council.
Before voting, council members who opposed the move to dismiss Cauthen spoke angrily about the process.
"Today there is no process. We've thrown all that in the trash," said council member Melba Curls.
Several people criticized the manner in which Cauthen was asked to leave City Hall on Thursday, including his entire staff.
"It's like this is a palace coup. I guess they haven't been lined up against the wall for a firing squad, but I don't see many other differences," said council member John Sharp.
Funkhouser made it no secret that he was at odds with Cauthen. However, he had never been able to line up enough votes to push him out until Thursday. Several council members who voted to remove Cauthen had also voted to extend his contract last year. Jan Marcason, Beth Gottstein and Cindy Circo refused to comment about why they changed their minds.
"It's a personnel issue," said Circo.
It may be the first outright political victory for Funkhouser in quite some time. The first-term mayor has often found himself challenged by, if not on the losing end of battles with, the City Council. After the meeting wrapped up, he quickly diffused the notion that he promised future political favors to his allies on the Cauthen vote.
The mayor's supporters point to several recent examples of more cooperative work between the mayor and council. They cite the council ceasing the battle over the volunteer ordinance, the fact that the mayor got the money he wanted for the Harlem Children's Zone, approval to make MAST part of the fire department and the council approving the mayor's New Tools Program.
"I absolutely made no deals. There was no quid pro quo of any kind," Funkhouser said.
The City Council also voted 7 to 5 Thursday to ratify current City Budget Officer Troy Schulte as as acting city manager. He will serve for at least six months at that position.
Meantime, the City will also owe Cauthen for 15 months of his salary, according to council member Sharon Sanders Brooks. That price tag will add up to more than $280,000 of taxpayer money.
