TransparencyAbuse of power & retaliation
City auditor finds Kansas City's communications office slow-walked Sunshine Law requests and threatened reporters' access under former City Manager Brian Platt
Confidence: Corroborated · 3 sourcesCity of Kansas City · Sep 22, 2026
Subject of this story
Brian Platt, Former Kansas City City Manager (December 2020 to March 2025)
Also named
Oversight
Office of the City Auditor (Kansas City, Missouri)
What happened
An August 2025 performance audit released by Kansas City's Office of the City Auditor found that the city's communications department, consolidated under then-City Manager Brian Platt, averaged about two weeks to fulfill Missouri Sunshine Law (open records) requests with no tracking system, buried stories it considered unfavorable, and that an assistant city manager working under Platt called reporters who wrote unfavorable coverage and threatened to cut off their access to city officials. Platt was fired by the City Council in March 2025 following a separate whistleblower verdict against the city, and the assistant city manager was fired in May 2025.
Sources (3)
KCURAudit found the communications department was slow to respond to records requests and prioritized branding over public information.
KCTV5Audit outlines Kansas City communications failures under former city manager, recommending several changes.
The Beacon (Kansas City)Kansas City audit urges overhaul of city communications.
Response
Brian Platt
No response by publication
Contacted — no response by publication.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.