Who is Brian Platt? What to know about Kansas City’s just-fired city manager
Brian Platt is out as Kansas City’s manager, after a unanimous Thursday vote from the Mayor Quinton Lucas and the city council.
Lucas cited a variety of reasons, including the recent lawsuits involving Platt, failure to create goals for departments and “the loss of confidence in leadership abilities both from staff and the elected official level.”
Under Platt’s contract, he is entitled to a year’s salary, $308,000, as severance. Lucas did not discuss the terms of Platt’s departure Thursday.
A week before, the city council discussed Platt’s employment, but did not have enough votes to fire him, according to Councilmember Melissa Robinson.
Platt has been suspended with pay since March 6, the day after a jury ruled against the city government in an employment lawsuit.
Deputy City Manager Kimiko Gilmore will fill the position until Lucas and the City Council choose a replacement.
Who is Brian Platt?
Platt was the Kansas City manager, the top unelected city employee who oversees the city’s operations. He took the job in December 2020.
Platt previously held a similar role for Jersey City, New Jersey, a city with approximately half of Kansas City’s population. Platt grew up in New Jersey and holds degrees from Columbia and Emory universities.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas recommended Platt from a field of 50 candidates in 2020, and he was approved by the city council in a 9-4 vote.
What are controversies surrounding Platt?
Platt was named in at least three employment lawsuits filed against the city.
Most recently, in early March, a jury ordered the city to pay more than $900,000 to former communications director Chris Hernandez. The lawsuit alleged that Platt told Hernandez to lie to the public and the media and, after Hernandez challenged Platt, Hernandez was demoted and retired early.
Two other employment discrimination lawsuits allege that Platt pushed out a top aide and a city civil rights director. The jury trial for the former is scheduled to begin in late April and the latter in October.
In March 2024, with nine months left on his initial contract, Platt was given a 16% pay raise and a three-year contract extension on the condition that he rescind himself from the running for a city manager job in Austin, Texas. A group of Black community leaders opposed the move because Platt’s performance review was still in progress and a growing number of racial discrimination lawsuits had been filed against him.
Platt’s 2020 hiring was criticized by Black council members because he was the finalist with the least amount of government experience and the only white finalist in a field of three Black candidates.
How much is Platt paid?
Platt receives $308,000 a year under his most recent current contract, which makes him one of the highest paid city employees. Before spring 2024, Platt was paid $265,000 a year.
In early 2024, Lucas praised Platt for his work revamping the city’s snow removal process, repaving roads and rolling out lidded trash cans.
What is a city manager?
The city manager oversees 17 city departments that run the airport, city roads, parks, and the fire department, among other government functions.
The city manager reports directly to the mayor and the city council and “is responsible for making city government run efficiently and economically,” according to the city’s website.
The Star’s Mike Hendricks contributed to this report.
Have more questions about local government in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 11:30 AM.
