KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council Thursday voted unanimously to remove City Manager Brian Platt.
The announcement followed a special closed session that started at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall.
After the council returned from the special session, Mayor Quinton Lucas outlined a "non-exhaustive" list of reasons the council took the action:
- A jury found he asked staff to lie to the media and demoted an employee who refused.
- Failure to effectively establish goals and visions for city departments.
- Loss of confidence from leaders on the council and among city staff
- Failure to mitigate risk
- Failure to take criticism
- Ineffectiveness in handling personnel matters
The Kansas City, Mo., city council has entered a closed meeting to discuss the suspension of City Manager Brian Platt. @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/KUnbqZ9V3j
— Charlie Keegan (@CharlieKeegan41) March 27, 2025
Platt was suspended with pay on Thursday, March 6. The suspension followed the outcome of a civil trial against Platt in which a jury levied a nearly $1 million verdict against Platt.
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The council voted to ratify and extend Platt’s suspension at its council meeting on March 20.
Following the March 20 vote, Mayor Quinton Lucas said a “final resolution” on the matter would be forthcoming “in days as opposed to weeks or months.”
That final resolution appears to have been Thursday morning’s vote.
“No one enjoys this moment, it is with great disappointment this step was taken," Lucas said.
The city manager oversees leaders for each of the city's departments. The position also carries out initiatives from the city council and helps guide the city through big-picture projects like World Cup preparations and transformative development projects.
“In order to continue that momentum, trust in city hall is paramount. If that trust has been breached, it stalls that momentum," Councilman Crispin Rea said.
Platt started in 2020. He received a lot of credit for overhauling and improving the city's snow plow response. The council extended his contract in 2024, paying him $308,000 annually.
Council members said they learned more than they expected during the civil trial. The jury decided Platt retaliated against a now former employee who refused to lie about how many miles of road the city resurfaced.
“The issue is really about the city council not having the confidence in his ability to continue to move the city forward with the challenges," Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw said. "We want transparency in our government and the concerns that arose recently were a major concern.”
Lucas said the city is prepared to defend its actions should Platt take legal action. He added there are no plans to pay out Platt's remaining contract.
“We will adhere to our contract on things like sick leave and vacation, what have you," Lucas explained. "In terms of golden parachute, there’s been no discussion of that. There’s not any plan to provide anything that’s more whatever the contractural rights would be.”
During Platt’s suspension, the council named Kimiko Gilmore as interim city manager.
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