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Sunnyside council places city manager on 30-day paid administrative leave; fire chief named acting manager
Summary
After an executive-session review, the Sunnyside City Council voted to place City Manager Mike Gonzalez on 30 days of paid administrative leave effective immediately and appointed Fire Chief Holbrook as acting city manager for the short term. A special meeting was scheduled to consider an interim appointment while an investigation proceeds.
Sunnyside — The Sunnyside City Council voted in open session Tuesday night to place City Manager Mike Gonzalez on 30 days of paid administrative leave effective immediately and instructed him to return all city property. The motion, made from the dais by the mayor and seconded, passed by roll call.
Council members said the action followed an executive-session review permitted under state law; the mayor said the council would continue an investigative process and would meet again to consider an interim appointment. The council also appointed Fire Chief Holbrook as acting city manager for two days and scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday at 6 p.m. to consider a longer interim arrangement while the investigation continues.
The leave order directed Gonzalez to turn in city property “including phone, computer, documents” that evening and to return the city vehicle and any other city property by the end of the next work day, the mayor said on the record.
Why it matters: placing a sitting city manager on administrative leave is a rare and formal personnel action that begins an investigative and decision-making process. The council explicitly cited authority to discuss personnel and potential litigation in executive session, then took public action when it returned to open session.
What the council did: After returning from executive session, the mayor announced the motion to place the manager on a 30-day paid administrative leave and to retrieve city property. A roll-call vote recorded the following votes as read aloud at the meeting: Councilor Hancock — yes; Councilor Vasquez — yes; Councilor Ripley — yes; Deputy Mayor — yes; Councilor Hart — no; Mayor — yes. The motion passed. The council then moved and approved the short-term appointment of Fire Chief Holbrook as acting city manager and set a special meeting to consider a longer interim appointment.
What the city manager said: Gonzalez spoke briefly to the council before the executive session and again when the council returned to open session. In a public statement he described his record in office and asked the council for unity. “When I walked through these doors of city hall, I inherited a broken city... I rolled up my sleeves, examined every line of the budget, and began rebuilding a team that this council and this community can be proud of,” Gonzalez said. He listed recent accomplishments, including securing more than $1.8 million in grant funding and work on water infrastructure and a potential housing purchase-and-sale agreement. “I came to build, not to bicker,” he said.
Next steps and process clarity: Council members said an investigation will proceed. The council referenced the state open-meetings statute that allows a governing body to meet in executive session to evaluate the qualifications of a public employee and to consult legal counsel about potential litigation (cited at the meeting as RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) and RCW 42.30.110(1)(i), and RCW 42.30.140(4)). The council scheduled a special public meeting for Wednesday at 6 p.m. to decide whether to appoint an interim city manager for a longer period while the investigation is underway.
What the action does not say: The motion and the public statements did not specify charges, findings, or a timeline for the investigation beyond the 30-day administrative leave. Council members said the leave and the appointment of an acting manager are procedural steps while the council pursues further review; the council did not adopt a disciplinary finding at the meeting.
Context from public comment: The leave motion followed a lengthy public-comment period during which many residents criticized council conduct, raised allegations about a hostile work environment, and expressed both support for and concern about the city manager. Several speakers praised Gonzalez’s efforts and grant work; others called for review of council behavior toward staff. Those comments were part of the public record presented to the council before the executive session.
What to watch: The council’s special meeting on Wednesday (6 p.m., council chambers) will be the next public step; it is expected to include action on an interim city manager while the investigation continues. The council and staff said they will provide updates consistent with personnel-law limits and with public-record rules.
