City hasn’t taken binding action

Transparency advocate: Wording implied contract is preordained

An advocate for transparency criticized Topeka’s city government Monday for suggesting in a news release that approval was preordained for a contract with Robert Perez, a finalist for city manager.

“The perception of preordained outcomes do not inspire public trust in a democracy,” said Max Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government.

Kautsch shared his thoughts after being contacted by The Capital-Journal regarding action the city announced in a news release put out Friday on behalf of interim city manager Richard U. Nienstedt.

Its first sentence said, “The City of Topeka announced Friday that the Governing Body will vote during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 14, to formally name Dr. Robert Perez to serve as Topeka’s next city manager.”

“The press release begs questions because it suggests that the outcome of the vote to hire the new city manager is preordained,” Kautsch said Monday. “It doesn’t say that the (council) will consider the recommendation; rather, it says it will ‘vote...to formally name’ a new city manager.”

Such language does not make clear to the public that there is a possibility that the new city manager won’t be hired, Kautsch said.

“As a result, based on the press release, Topeka residents should be forgiven for wondering whether the city’s hiring of a new city manager amounted to taking binding action out of the public eye in violation of open meeting law,” he said.

Topeka city attorney explains contract negotiation process

The Kansas Open Meetings Act bans public bodies from taking binding action behind closed doors in executive session but allows them to “reach a consensus” in such sessions.

Topeka’s mayor and council complied with that law by taking no binding action regarding Perez’s hiring or contract, city attorney Amanda Stanley told The Capital-Journal in an email Friday.

“While staff has the authority to bring a contract forward for public consideration, no contract can be entered into until a public vote is taken,” Stanley said. “This frequently happens. Governing Body’s regularly delegate preparations of contracts to staff. Each governing body member will have the choice next week to vote yes or no. If 6 votes are obtained, Dr. Perez will become city manager. If there not six votes, then he would not.

“It is best practice for a contract to available to the public in advance of a vote for its consideration. In order to that, a release had to be made that it would be considered but again, no formal action has been taken and at this time Dr. Perez is not City Manager.

“All that has been announced is that the formal vote you are asking about will be taking place on Tuesday.”

Kautsch doesn’t disagree, he told The Capital-Journal after seeing a copy of what Stanley wrote.

“Happily, the city’s comments clearly show it understands the law,” he said. “The city should strive to include language in its press releases that better reflect that understanding.”

What will happen at Tuesday’s city council meeting?

Topeka’s mayor and city council plan during their 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday in their chambers at 214 S.E. 8th to considering approving a contract that would pay Perez $255,000 a year to serve as city manager.

Perez and Alan Howze, assistant administrator for Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, were chosen last month as the two finalists among the 42 people who applied for the city manager’s job, which is currently held on an interim basis by Nienstedt.

Votes from six governing body members are required to approve the contract with Perez, Stanley said.

What has happened in the past?

Perez would become Topeka’s fifth city manager hired on more than an interim basis.

Topekans voted in November 2004 to replace their strong mayor-council form of government with the city councilmanager form, in which the council sets policy while the manager runs day-today operations.

Topeka Capital-Journal archives show that when the council in January 2006 chose Topeka’s first city manager, Norton Bonaparte Jr., it voted 6-3 to authorize two councilmen who were lawyers to team up with the executive search firm the city hired to negotiate a contract with Bonaparte.

The council the following month voted 7-1 to approve a contract paying Bonaparte an annual salary of $137,500.

Bonaparte was terminated in 2011 amid a controversy over the way he dealt with the theft of scrap metal by four city employees.

The city has since chosen a city manager at the same time it approved a contract with that person..

The council in July 2012 voted 6-3 to choose Jim Colson as city manager and approve a contract paying him an annual salary of $170,000. Colson resigned in 2016, saying he had been away too long from his wife in Arizona and needed to return home to “full-time husband status.”

The mayor and council in August 2017 voted 8-0, with two members being absent, to choose Brent Trout as city manager and approve a contract paying him an annual salary of $195,000. Trout resigned effective Dec. 31, 2021, to become county manager for Harnett County, North Carolina.

The mayor and council in September 2022 voted 10-0 to choose Stephen Wade as city manager and approve a contract paying him an annual salary of $200,000. Wade was fired last July after what a city spokeswoman said was an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.