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Mayor reads letter describing $52,066.68 severance paid to former administrator; calls prior handling 'secrecy and deceit'

Connell City Council · January 7, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The mayor read a letter and check-register entry showing a $52,066.68 severance payment to former city administrator Kathleen Koch, said the termination process appeared to have been handled without council approval, and criticized prior secrecy; no formal legal action was announced.

The mayor read aloud a letter and a check-register entry showing a $52,066.68 severance payment to former city administrator Kathleen Koch and described the timing as inconsistent with how the departure was presented to the public.

According to the mayor—s reading, the council had passed the 2026 budget on Nov. 19 with a $50,000 reduction to the administrator salary line and it was implied the administrator would leave in January 2026. The mayor said Koch—s last day…

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