PAOLILLO CLAIMS ALDERMEN DON’T FOLLOW SUNSHINE LAW
After recent months of personnel matters dominating news from City Hall and the firing of a city administrator by aldermen, Platte City Mayor Tony Paolillo resigned at a meeting of the board of aldermen Tuesday night.
Paolillo opened Tuesday night’s regular meeting by saying he wanted to read a prepared statement. At the end of that statement, which covers about four typed pages, Paolillo announced his immediate resignation. He then stepped up from the meeting table and walked out of City Hall.
John Higgins, board president who serves as mayor pro-tem, conducted the rest of the meeting after saying the mayor’s move was a “surprise.”
Paolillo’s resignation came just a week before his re-election effort. He is being challenged for mayor by current alderman Steve Hoeger. Paolillo’s name will still be on the Tuesday, April 2 ballot.
Paolillo has served as mayor for four years. Prior to first being elected mayor in 2020, he had served as an alderman for 12 years.
The mayor’s resignation letter spends considerable time pointing fingers at aldermen, who unanimously voted recently to fire city administrator Marji Gehr. Paolillo’s letter at times specifically targets Hoeger, his opponent on the April 2 ballot.
“Specifically, and most recently, Aldermen (Dan) Laxson and Hoeger admitted in open session that they entered into negotiations with a candidate for interim city administrator. The negotiations included a rate of pay and a start date. In negotiating directly with the candidate and disregarding the prior action of the board at the Feb. 27, 2024 board meeting directing the mayor to start a search for a couple of firms to provide proposals for interim city administrator service, the individual aldermen appear to have exceeded their authority and undermined the integrity of the prescribed manner for conducting the business of the city,” Paolillo read from his letter.
“In addition, the current board has developed a course of conduct whereby they have attempted to conduct important discussions regarding city business through email communications. I have advised them on multiple occasions that Missouri Sunshine Law does not allow ‘reply all’ discussions as I believe those to be unposted meetings.
“Board members also appear to have worked in small groups to have taken polling or ‘straw votes’ or to have otherwise strategized about upcoming agenda items, with the intention of merely ratifying their actions at an open meeting later. I believe this is also a violation of Missouri Sunshine Law,” Paolillo continued.
Paolillo claims “there have also been efforts to consider items that have not been properly placed on the agenda and for which there had not been the required 24-hour notice before a meeting. In response to my refusal to take action on some of these items or to place them on the agenda, board members have criticized my decisions and my application of the Sunshine Law as relying on mere ‘technicalities or secretarial’–implying that the notice provisions and other rules for conducting the city’s business were somehow not important.”
He then directly addresses Hoeger with comments in his resignation letter:
“Alderman Hoeger, I believe in the importance of the Sunshine Laws. I believe they are the safeguards for the public trust and are for more than ‘technicalities or secretarial.’ I have tried over the last three months to protect you from yourself, and to protect the citizens of Platte City from your brand of closed-door government. You and I value the process differently. It appears that you see the procedural steps as obstacles in the road to be ran over or swerved around, I see them as guideposts to keep us on the right path.
“But you, and the rest of the board have the opportunity to change your values and become stewards of the process; to learn the requirements of how to conduct the public’s business and see that the process is never sacrificed for the sake of the result. I challenge each of you to better understand these laws that some of you call ‘technicalities or secretarial.’
The resigning mayor then went on to read from his letter: “But knowing the rules are not the point. You must first come to value this: the Sunshine laws are not stumbling blocks to be sidestepped, they are the cornerstones of public service and the first lines of defense against the seeds of corruption. Do not comply with them because you are obligated to, which you are, but instead comply with them because you believe in them. Be a champion for these values of process, fairness, notice and transparency. Hold your fellow aldermen accountable for not just following the process, but seeing its value.”
Paolillo added that “too much has already transpired for me, however, and I can no longer in good conscience be part of a governing body that has so little respect for the laws that govern it. With that in mind, I respectfully resign as mayor of Platte City immediately.”
REACTION FROM HOEGER
Asked for his reaction to Paolillo’s resignation and the accusations contained in his resignation letter, Hoeger said in a telephone conversation with The Landmark that the mayor’s resignation was “quite unexpected.”
Hoeger followed up that phone conversation by emailing a statement to The Landmark that reads as follows:
“The mayor read a prepared statement last night redressing the board of aldermen and specifically Alderman Laxson and myself before resigning effective immediately from the office of mayor.
“While I was surprised about the mayor’s announcement, our board immediately demonstrated to the public that our primary task and goal is continuity of government and conducting the business of the city for the betterment of our employees, residents and businesses. Our city, like other governments, is not perfect, but it is my experience that this board strives to keep the public fully informed of our actions, and is aware of its responsibilities under Missouri law. I cannot comment on the mayor’s internal beliefs, but do not agree with his statements made during our session last evening. I respect his service and wish him well.
“Events of the last year led to my filing (for the office of mayor) on the final day of registration in late December. I believe poor leadership and communications over the last year are detrimental to the direction of the city and moving forward.
“The mayor inherited a successful city government with dedicated board members; that in at least my tenure on the board worked cohesively, and in the best interest of the city. We had sub-committees that focused on specific areas of activity within city government which were chaired by individual aldermen. The mayor and former city administrator stopped using these committees which I believe resulted in a breakdown of collaboration of the board and the mayor. Unfortunately actions like this continued to drive a wedge between the mayor and the board of aldermen.
“Recent events have set local government back. The city has garnered much negative publicity and needs to heal and move on. Actions speak louder than words; and a contempt for the board and its responsibilities have led to a schism that is unclear if it could be healed without new leadership. Alderman Miller, I think summed up the feelings of many of the aldermen in his statements at the conclusion of last night’s meeting (Miller stated he was “pissed” at recent situations, comments and actions). The mayor’s actions have put the board and the city in a difficult spot but one we can heal through new leadership and collaboration between elected officials. I would like to thank Tony for his willingness to serve the past 16 years and wish him the best going forward.
“This will be my only statement regarding the situation. All future responses will be in the form of my action as an elected official moving the city forward and healing from the divide caused this last year.”
REACTION FROM
ALDERMAN TROY MILLER
After the closed session, Alderman Troy Miller had stated he was “pissed.” Asked by The Landmark to expand on that in a phone conversation Wednesday morning, Miller said he was mad for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is that in the past, he says, some department heads and city administrators have told employees not to discuss items with the board of aldermen. “They were made to believe their jobs were on the line if they did,” Miller said.
As for Paolillo’s resignation statements, Miller said: “I was less than excited about his comments. It seemed like a political jab. I don’t think that was the right place for that. I didn’t think that was appropriate.”
As for Sunshine Law accusations made by Paolillo toward the board, Miller said: “No decisions were ever made, that I can recall, behind the scenes. We’re just not doing that.”
Miller indicated recent actions by Paolillo, including ending the aldermen’s subcommittees without input from the aldermen, didn’t sit well with board members.
“You can’t alienate your board and break it off in us, then get mad about it when we shut it down,” Miller said, referring to Paolillo.
INTERIM CITY ADMINISTRATOR
SITUATION BEING NEGOTIATED
The city continues to be in discussion with former city administrator DJ Gehrt to return in an interim role as it searches for a permanent replacement for the fired Marji Gehr.
The city attorney, after a lengthy closed session, announced aldermen are tweaking the interim employment offer to Gehrt. The amended offer will be presented to Gehrt for his consideration. Primarily, the adjustments in the offer deal with the handling of any personnel matters that may come up during his time as interim administrator.
The employment offer to Gehrt was approved on a 4-2 vote by the aldermen. In favor were Hoeger, Miller, Laxson, and Higgins. Debbie Kirkpatrick and Vickie Atkins voted no.
The offer will be presented to Gehrt this week. A potential start date is April 1.