Lucas, sources on future of City Manager position: ‘It's hard to tell'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mayor Quinton Lucas says he is unsure if he supports city manager Brian Platt moving forward, one day after suspending the very man he helped hire.
The suspension comes a day after a whistleblower lawsuit led to a nearly $1 million verdict against the city in a lawsuit filed by a former employee.
'We have to take urgent action; we have to take swift action,' said Melissa Robinson
'These situations are never easy, but our duty is always to the people of Kansas City and making sure they trust us,' Lucas said.
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The bottom line is that Brian Platt's job is in jeopardy and to a degree his bosses are weighing in.
'Those are taxpayers' dollars that we are using, there's real stories it's not just a line on the budget there's real stories behind those settlements and those cost.'
The revelations in the latest lawsuit the city is on the hook for are long and detailed by former communications director Chris Hernandez. He says Platt told him to lie to the media about something Platt claims was a joke.
A jury sided with the fired employee and levied nearly a million dollars in damages the city will soon have to pay.
'None of us support lying or misleading the media I think it was Mr. Platt's Testimony that he saw it as a joke or something of that sort, notwithstanding the individual facts of that case that's something Kansas City will never support,' Lucas said.
Robinson tells FOX4 that the city's liability from settlements and lawsuits has ballooned by millions of dollars since 2020.
Platt's time in the city manager's office has not always been smooth. In 2023, civil rights leaders called for his firing because they believed his administration oppressed black people and had a culture of racism.
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Deputy City Manager Kimiko Gilmore will fill the role of City Manager of Kansas City.
'I've known Kimiko for probably decades now and known her when she was at Swope Community Builders. She's always been fair, she's smart, strategic. She's a friend of the community, she is someone who has a history here.'
A source inside city hall late Friday afternoon said 'It's hard to tell,' when asked if Brian Platt would still have a job in two weeks. A decision on Platt's fate will come on March 20.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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