It cost Kansas City a half-million dollars to part ways with former city manager Brian Platt, whom the city council fired unanimously in March.
The first settlement document for $192,000 was disclosed to KCUR on Wednesday night. However, that document referred to a "Confidential Severance Agreement" but did not say what was in it.
A second Missouri Sunshine Request by KCUR resulted in the city disclosing the agreement, which revealed the additional $308,000.
"This amount is equal to Employee's annual salary as of the Termination Date," according to the document.
When asked why the second document was not disclosed, Kansas City spokesperson Sherae Honeycutt said, "It was not intentional."
Platt was fired after the city lost a $1.4 million whistleblower lawsuit.
"I was very disturbed they did this backroom deal," said Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City.
She called the settlement "unconscionable" and said it "smells like hush money."
In early March, Grant and a coalition of civil rights organizations called for Platt's firing, saying Platt had a “well-documented pattern of racism, sexism, mendacity, and retaliation against Black, Latino, and female employees.”
Andrea Dorch, former head of Kansas City's civil rights department, sued Platt and the city for race- and age-based discrimination in March 2024. That suit was moved to federal court in August, according to online court records.
The settlement documents said Platt accused the city of "breach of contract, a whistleblower claim, legal malpractice, and defamation."
The document also said the city and Platt wanted to avoid litigating those accusations.
Platt said it was an incredible honor to be city manager of Kansas City.
"I am extremely proud of all that our team accomplished to enhance the quality of life for Kansas Citians," he said in a statement to KCUR.
Platt, the former city manager of Jersey City, was appointed in 2020.
In March of last year, the city council extended Platt’s contract to August 2027 and gave him a raise from $265,000 to $308,000, making him the city’s highest-paid employee.
