FRONTENAC, Kan. (AP) The city council for a small southeast Kansas community has fired its administrator, attorney and clerk without any discussion, prompting the mayor to threaten to resign and then walk out of the meeting.
The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that the mass firings happened during Monday nights meeting in Frontenac, a town of about 3,400 just to the north of Pittsburg. The reasons for the surprise terminations remain unclear. The Morning Sun has filed a records request.
After the firings, Mayor Linda Grilz said she would veto the vote or the council also could have her resignation. She then walked out with the three fired employees.
A city council member who voted in favor of the firings is now serving as interim mayor. But questions remain about whether Grilz had officially resigned.
Frontenac residents have raised many concerns at recent council meetings including plans to spend several million dollars improving the citys water system, the citys lawsuit against Pittsburg over the construction of Wild Red Road connecting to Atkinson, sewer system issues, and questions about the citys building permit requirements.
The recent termination of a city employee who was reinstated by the Council immediately after the three city officials were dismissed may also have had something to do with the decision, according to several people interviewed by the Morning Sun.
Grilz told the newspaper that several actions taken by the eight-member city council Monday were not done appropriately, including the council not acting on her veto of the motion to terminate the three employees or accepting her resignation.
I dont know that they were following rules, Grilz said, but they were probably following what they were told to do.
Grilz also said she thought the decision to terminate the three city employees had been decided prior to the meeting, and was in violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA).
Ethan Spurling, a former Frontenac City Council member who is now working at the Kansas Department of Revenue, issued a statement Tuesday regarding Mondays city council actions.
I am deeply disturbed to learn of the events that took place in my hometown last night, Spurling said in his statement. I have always found lifelong resident Mayor Linda Grilz to be an honest, fair, and incredibly trustworthy person, and Brad Reams to be an excellent City Administrator. He has been an asset to the community despite having to overcome many hurdles along the way and does so with little fanfare or objection. The meeting itself doesnt pass the smell test. I hope there will be a thorough and transparent investigation that, when completed, will be released to the public.
Frontenac resident Todd Plouvier, who was in the audience during Mondays meeting, said We didnt know it was coming, but thats what we wanted, I mean most of us did, Plouvier said.
I think the people on the council, theyre going to regroup and theyll formulate a plan.
The Morning Sun submitted a records request Tuesday for recent communications of city council members who voted in favor of terminating the three city employees, as well as the communications of those employees.
