By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A St. Joseph city councilmember remains unhappy with the performance of City Manager Bruce Woody, but has failed in an effort to suspend him without pay for one week.

Councilmember Brian Myers got only three votes on his motion to suspend Woody during a closed session with five voting against the measure. Myers says he’s prohibited from going in-depth about the discussion during the closed-door meeting.

“The only thing I can legally say is that I made a motion to suspend our city manager, Bruce Woody, for one week without pay and that motion did not pass,” Myers tells Barry Birr, host of the KFEQ Hotline.

Myers has been displeased with the city manager for some time. He and another city councilmember couldn’t get any support for their efforts to fire Woody last August.

As for his reasons, Myers only says there are gaps in leadership at city hall. Myers says state law prohibits him from disclosing what was discussed behind closed doors.

“What I can say is my own personal opinion that we do have some leadership issues that start from the top and trickle all the way down, that there are certain issues with the budget that have not been addressed in a proper fashion,” according to Myers. “I believe it’s time for some course action in making some changes so that we can, all of us, move forward together as a city.”

Myers says he’s following the lead of the voters, who signaled their displeasure with the direction of the city by electing five new members to the council.