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Burien council places city manager on paid administrative leave, authorizes city attorney to name interim
Summary
At a special April 13 meeting, the Burien City Council voted 4–3 to place the city manager on paid administrative leave and, after an amendment, authorized the city attorney to identify an interim city manager before the next regular meeting. The action followed an executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1).
Burien — At a special meeting on April 13, 2026, the Burien City Council voted 4–3 to place the city manager on paid administrative leave and to authorize the city attorney to identify an interim city manager prior to the council's next regular meeting. The council met first in executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1) to discuss litigation or legal risks before returning to open session and taking action.
Deputy Mayor Hugo Garcia moved to place the city manager on paid administrative leave and to authorize the mayor to identify an interim city manager; the motion was seconded. Council Member Kevin Schilling proposed and won a unanimous amendment to change the designation authority from the mayor to the city attorney. "We're not full time council members. You're not a full time mayor... you don't have a career in human resources or background in identifying people for this specific job. So I'd have more faith and support for the city attorney," Schilling said during the amendment discussion.
After the amendment, the council voted on the revised motion. Mayor Sarah Moore, Council Member Sam Mendez, Deputy Mayor Hugo Garcia and Council Member Rocco DeVito voted yes. Council Member Linda Achee, Council Member Kevin Schilling and Council Member Andrade voted no. The mayor announced the motion passed 4–3.
City Attorney Marie Sotto said she had provided confidential advice in executive session and declined to disclose that counsel in open session. She added, "I am a contract interim city attorney, but I am happy to send a notification to city's HR after this meeting, informing them of the events of this evening, and work with them to take care of the administrative steps of what has occurred tonight." The council asked Sotto to handle administrative details such as office technology, cell phone and key-card access for the interim.
The council did not name the city manager in the public record during this meeting. The approved direction requires the city attorney to identify an interim city manager before the next regular council meeting; the motion specifies the leave as paid administrative leave.
The special meeting had convened at 5:30 p.m., proceeded to a closed executive session with multiple time extensions, and returned to open session after which the action described above was taken. Mayor Moore adjourned the meeting at 8:04 p.m.
