Sunnyside Council ratifies 30-day administrative leave for city manager, hires outside investigator; interim manager decision moved to Monday

The Sunnyside City Council on Wednesday ratified a resolution placing the city manager on nondisciplinary administrative leave for 30 days and approved hiring O'Sullivan Legal PLLC to conduct an investigation, while postponing a separate decision on a proposed 30‑day interim city manager contract until the council's regular meeting Monday.

The action followed a brief executive session held under RCW 42.30.110(1)(i) to consult with legal counsel; the council said no action was taken during that closed session. Councilors voted 5 to 2 to ratify the leave and 5 to 2 to authorize the investigator contract. The council separately voted unanimously to move consideration of an interim manager agreement to Monday's meeting so members could review résumés and related material.

Mayor (unnamed), opening the special meeting, apologized for the appearance that the interim appointment had been handled unilaterally, saying, "This is not a decision that I get to make all by myself." He said the discussion that evening…