Topeka city manager's firing 'not a crisis,' councilman says

Federal and state laws, including personnel and privacy laws, prevent Topeka city officials from revealing details about why city manager Stephen Wade was fired, Councilman Spencer Duncan said Thursday.

"I will tell you the deliberation was thorough, the decision unanimous, and the focus of all city council members is to ensure our staff can succeed in their jobs and that you continue to be served well by City Hall," he said.

Duncan made that statement in a post Thursday on Facebook regarding the mayor and council's 10-0 vote late Tuesday to approve Councilman and Deputy Mayor Neil Dobler's motion to fire Wade for undisclosed cause.

Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala seconded the motion. Its approval surprised many Topekans.

Councilman: City manager's termination is 'not a crisis'

Wade's termination is "not a crisis," Duncan said in his Facebook post.

That action was "necessary, but unplanned," he said.

"It has been an unfortunate and unexpected event," the post said. "The reality is, cities experience unexpected change often, and how we handle that change can be more critical than the change itself."

What happens next?

Before Topeka's mayor and council find a permanent city manager, they will try to find a new interim city manager so the longtime public servant holding that job "can finally retire," Duncan told The Capital-Journal.

The city in a news release issued Thursday didn't say how long its interim city manager, 71-year-old Richard Nienstedt, might stay.

"While I don't intend to serve in the role long term, I am fully committed to serving the citizens of Topeka, our great city of Topeka employees, and our dedicated governing body members during this time of transition," Nienstedt said in the release.

The mayor and council voted 10-0 Tuesday evening to appoint Nienstedt as interim city manager.

They had voted 10-0 to hire Nienstedt as acting city manager on June 6, after Wade took a temporary leave of absence for unspecified reasons.

What does the interim manager's contract say?

Nienstedt spent 43 years as city manager for Kansas municipalities before retiring March 31 as city manager for Ottawa in east-central Kansas.

His contract calls for him to continue to hold his Topeka job "until such time as the permanent City Manager returns from leave."

Nienstedt told The Capital-Journal last month that he and his wife, Rita, have an understanding that his job here will only be temporary.

"There are some things we want to do" together in retirement, he said.

What happens next regarding the permanent city manager's job?

Topeka's mayor and council plan in coming weeks to define a process to find Topeka's next permanent city manager, the city said in Thursday's news release issued by communications director Gretchen Spiker.

"The governing body is focused on making sure that we continue to provide Topekans with the quality municipal services they expect from us," Mayor Mike Padilla said in the statement. "We are in good hands with Richard, and we know that he and his team of department leaders and staff are committed and will keep our community moving forward with the many great initiatives we have in the works."

The city has a "dedicated group of department directors and wonderful employees," Duncan said in his Facebook post, "and it is because of them we will move forward with little interruption to services."

How long did the hiring process last to pick Topeka's last city manager?

Ten months passed between the time Topeka's last permanent city manager, Brent Trout, announced in November 2021 that he was leaving and Wade was hired in September 2022.

Topeka's mayor and council picked Wade over three fellow finalists. They were:

• Abbe Yacoben, who then became chief financial officer last October for Washoe County, Nevada.

• Michael Harmon, who was then chosen last December as city manager of Blaine, Washington.

• David Johnston, who then became county administrator last March for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

More: Stephen Wade is out as Topeka city manager. Here's what we know.

What do we know about why Wade was fired?

Wade was fired under provisions of his contract that allow for the city to "terminate the services of the Employee at any time, for any reason or for no reason, with or without cause."

Topeka's mayor and council met for two hours behind closed doors in executive session before voting to fire Wade.

Tuesday marked the third straight meeting in which issues involving Wade were discussed. The mayor and council heard that evening from Chris McHugh, an investigator with the law firm Joseph Hollander & Craft, LLC.

The mayor and council declined after Tuesday evening's vote to speak with reporters.

Wade hasn't returned cellphone and email messages left by The Capital-Journal.

Wade's contract says that if the mayor and council terminate that contract at a time when he is willing and able to perform his duties, the city will pay him a lump sum equal to six months of his base salary, which would amount to $100,000.

His contract calls for the city to continue for six months to provide Wade health and dental coverage and also pay him a lump sum equal to six months of that coverage.

City paid law firm $450 an hour

In response to a request filed under the Kansas Open Records Act, Topeka's city government charged The Capital-Journal $5 to acquire a copy of the city's contract with Joseph Hollander & Craft, LLC.

It calls for the city to pay that firm $450 an hour for services rendered, up to a maximum of $35,000.

The city hasn't yet received the final bill from Joseph Hollander and Craft but will be happy to reveal the amount involved once it becomes known, Spiker said.

Who were Topeka's previous permanent city managers?

Topeka's mayor and council voted 10-0 on Sept. 13 to approve a three-year contract calling for Wade, then 55, to start work as city manager at an annual base salary of $200,000.

Wade served from 2018 to 2020 as publisher of The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Wade was city manager less than 10 months, leaving him the shortest-tenured of the four permanent city managers the city has had since the city council/manager form of government took effect in 2005.

The others were Norton Bonaparte Jr., Jim Colson and Trout.

Bonaparte served from 2006 to 2011. The city council reached a severance agreement with him ending his employment after some council members sought to fire Bonaparte amid a controversy over the way the city dealt with the theft of scrap metal by four of its water division employees.

Colson was city manager from 2012 to 2016. He resigned, saying he had been away too long from his wife in Arizona and needed to return home to “full-time husband status.”

Trout was city manager from 2017 to 2021. He also resigned, saying he and his wife were moving east to be closer to family, including grandchildren.

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

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Laws keep city of Topeka from revealing why its city manager was fired