Johnson County council appoints interim city manager with top administrator on leave
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The Shawnee City Council on Monday appointed an interim city manager while its top leader remains on paid leave because council members are angry he did not inform them that several city employees received a video of him masturbating a month ago.
The council appointed Public Works Director Doug Whitacre to serve as interim city manager for an unspecified amount of time, after an hour-long closed door meeting. Council members did not take any further action against City Manager Doug Gerber, who they unanimously voted to place on leave last week.
The council made that decision after meeting in closed session for two-and-a-half hours. Council members said they took the action because Gerber had an obligation to disclose that several employees received the graphic video, attached to an email from an outside account — but did not.
Gerber answers to the City Council.
Some employees told The Star they were upset that no one offered an explanation, apology or support after they viewed the explicit video.
Gerber, who was hired as city manager in March, did not personally send the video to employees. It was emailed to some staff on Sept. 29 by an anonymous third party who, in recent emails with The Star, said they wanted to reveal Gerber’s online behavior.
Gerber could claim victim status under a state law that says it’s illegal to disseminate videos and photos of an identifiable person engaging in sexual activity without consent.
The Shawnee police chief did not return The Star’s request for comment.
A few council members called for last week’s meeting one day after The Star filed a Kansas Open Records Act request of emails related to the incident and any subsequent investigations. The Star’s request is how multiple council members and the mayor said they learned of the incident a month after it happened.
The city subsequently denied The Star’s request to view the records, saying it is a personnel matter.
“While an extremely unfortunate result, we were left with no choice, as once the video was disseminated to city servers, Mr. Gerber had an obligation to inform us of its existence,” Councilwoman Tammy Thomas said in a previous statement. “He chose not to, leading the council to learn about it through other means a full month later. This is inexcusable.”
It is unclear when or where the video was taken. Gerber has declined to provide details about how it came about, telling The Star at City Hall last week, “I think it’s not in the city’s best interest right now to comment.”
After the video was emailed, a Shawnee information technology employee sent a staff-wide email, obtained by The Star, saying the message had gotten through the city’s email filter because it was a standard video file from a generic outside account. The account was blocked. The staff-wide email said the video was sent by a “disturbed individual trying to cause issues with the city.”
Gerber joined the city in March, where he’s earning a $190,000 annual salary, plus perks, according to his contract. Gerber’s contract states that his firing without cause would require the city to pay six months worth of his salary as severance. Termination with cause, or a resignation, would not require a payout.
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 6:23 PM.
