The City of Wichita Ethics Board met Tuesday, discussing a complaint against Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.
In October, the president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 135, Ted Bush, signed a complaint alleging three violations by Wu, including the claim she “improperly instructed” Wichita Fire Chief Tammy Snow to lay off 42 fire department employees during a private meeting.
Both the Mayor and Bush provided the Ethics Board with their sides of the story, including recordings and documentation.
Bush stated he had a meeting with Snow in September, during which he was told that Wu talked to Snow outside of any public City Council meeting, and that Wu told Snow she must lay off 42 employees before the end of 2025, and that she had no choice.
City Manager Robert Layton recalled the March meeting and said neither Wu nor Snow mentioned anything about Wu instructing Snow to lay anyone off.
Ultimately, it was decided that Bush’s allegations were conflicting and that no violation was found:
“The Respondent denies saying or doing what is alleged. Chief Snow denies that the Respondent said or did what is alleged, although her recorded comments to Complainant could be interpreted as being contradictory,” stated the Ethics Board. “During this investigation, Chief Snow said she misspoke or overstated when describing what Respondent said to her. She says the recorded comments were in reference to Respondent saying something different, not instructions to lay off 42 employees.”.
No binding action will be taken at this time.
Both Bush and Wu have seven business days to request additional review. If neither file a request by the deadline, the board’s decision will become final.