MARJI GEHR DISMISSED AFTER JUST EIGHT MONTHS
Her tenure at the top was short, and now it’s officially over.
During a closed session, the Platte City Board of Aldermen Tuesday night voted to fire Marji Gehr as city administrator. Mayor Tony Paolillo announced at the conclusion of the closed session that the vote to terminate Gehr’s employment contract was unanimous among the six aldermen–John Higgins, Steve Hoeger, Debbie Kirkpatrick, Vickie Atkins, Troy Miller and Dan Laxson.
Paolillo also announced that on a temporary basis, Police Chief Joe Wellington will be the point of contact for day-to-day operations at City Hall. “If he needs a sidekick, he will be calling me,” Paolillo said.
It is assumed the city will soon begin an effort to bring in an interim city administrator. There are national groups that offer a pool of professional administrators willing to serve cities on an interim basis while the municipality begins the process of searching for a permanent replacement. Or, it’s possible that for an interim the city could turn to its former city administrator, DJ Gehrt, who had a long tenure as Platte City’s administrator before retiring last year.
Gehr had officially become city administrator on July 1. She had taken over most of the duties of the previous city administrator a few months prior to that time as DJ Gehrt, former city administrator who officially retired June 30, focused primarily on duties associated with construction of the new City Hall.
Marji Gehr last year had signed a three-year employment agreement that was to run from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. Her annual base salary was $120,000. She was also being paid a $400 per month vehicle allowance.
Under terms of her employment agreement, which is a public record, the city had the power to terminate Gehr at “a duly authorized meeting” by a majority vote of the governing body.
Per wording in her contract under Section 10 entitled “severance,” it reads: “If the employee is terminated, the city will provide a minimum severance payment equal to nine months’ salary at the current rate of pay.”
Also per the employment agreement, Gehr is to be compensated for accrued vacation time, sick leave and other benefits to date.
Also per wording in the contract, for a minimum of six months following termination “the employer shall pay the cost to continue the benefits at the then current rate or increased rate during the period as applicable. During this six month period, the employer agrees to continue to provide and to pay the employer share of premiums for medical, dental and vision insurance.”
Gehr previously had served in positions of finance officer for several years and assistant city administrator for a time before taking over the head post on July 1.
The board did not–and is not required to–present any public reasoning for Gehr’s dismissal.
AT THE CLOSED SESSION
Tuesday night’s closed session to discuss personnel and privileged communications between the board and its attorney came at the end of the agenda during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
The executive session, with the aldermen, mayor and city attorney present began at 6:36 p.m. Well over an hour later, at 7:55 p.m., the mayor stepped out of the closed room and requested Gehr to enter. About one minute later, Gehr exited the closed session room, grabbed her things from the meeting table in the council chambers and walked back into the closed session room. She did not reappear and presumably was escorted out the back doorway of City Hall.
Alderman Dan Laxson stepped out of the closed session room at 7:56 p.m. and motioned to Wellington, the police chief. Laxson and Wellington spoke briefly in a hallway outside the council chambers before both entered the closed session room.
At around 8:15 p.m., the executive session ended and the mayor made the announcement of the unanimous vote to terminate Gehr’s contract. As the meeting wrapped up, Jennifer Snider, city attorney, asked the mayor to make an announcement about the day-to-day operations.
That’s when Paolillo announced Wellington would be the point of contact at City Hall on a temporary basis.
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