> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.citizenjournal.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hutchinson city manager, assistant city attorney leave; council asks for it in writing - URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/hutchinson-city-manager-assistant-city-attorney-leave-council-asks-for-it-in-writing/ - Published: 2026-09-09T21:54:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-09T21:54:06.000Z - Description: Two weeks after Cody Smith said Stacy Goss had a conflict on the Hutch Rec investigation, he and Enrico Villegas said Wednesday was their last day. The council wants it in writing. - Author: Greg Loving - Tags: hutch, #news Sign up for our free newsletter and never miss a story. [Sign up free](https://subscribe.citizenjournal.us/?ref=citizenjournal.us) HUTCHINSON, Kan. — City Manager Enrico Villegas and Assistant City Attorney Cody Smith announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, that it was their last day working for the city. By early afternoon the Hutchinson City Council had called a special meeting, spent 59 minutes in executive session and come back with a four-sentence response: put it in writing. In a joint statement emailed to local media at 8:45 a.m. and first reported by Hutch Post, Villegas and Smith said they "would have preferred to continue serving the City" but that the working environment had become "increasingly hostile and untenable" after they raised concerns about the Hutchinson Recreation Commission, the Hutch Rec Foundation and the Dillon Nature Center Foundation. They named one council member. "In our experience, Council member Stacy Goss's continued conduct has been a principal contributor to that environment," the statement said. It gave no examples of that conduct, and it said nothing about who would take over their duties once they left. The conflict between Smith and Goss had already played out on the record. Minutes from the council's Aug. 18 meeting show it went into closed session with Smith twice that night: once for legal advice on "the duties of office, including conflicts of interest and recusal," and once for "an update on the investigations concerning" Hutch Rec and the two foundations. Goss recused herself from the second session, saying her husband serves on the Hutch Rec Foundation board. Nine days later, at a special meeting on Aug. 27, she did not recuse herself. Goss opened that meeting by asking Mayor Scott Meggers and Villegas whether they intended to add action items that were not on the published agenda; both said no. The council then voted 5-0 to go into closed session with Smith for "an update on the Hutchinson Rec Commission investigation and the city's related legal position." Before the room cleared, Smith asked Goss whether she was recusing. The city's broadcast feed cut out for about a minute at that point, and at Goss's request the exchange was restated for the public. "Ms. Goss stated that she is not recusing from this matter," Smith said. "It is the city attorney's position that based on her husband's position with the Hutch Rec Foundation, that she does have a conflict of interest with respect to this matter. She has previously recused herself on this matter." He said he could not "give privileged legal advice to the council if someone is present that is not entitled to receive privileged information," and asked the council to rescind the executive session. "I consulted an attorney and I was told not to recuse myself and that no conflict of interest existed," Goss said. Smith asked who the attorney was. "I don't have to tell you that," she said. Goss also said Council Member Darrin Truan, who holds the council's ex officio seat on the recreation commission, should have been asked to recuse. Truan said he had already recused himself at the recreation commission from "anything dealing with the attorney general investigation" and left that body's executive session before it started. Smith said that was the only recusal he had discussed with Truan. The council voted 5-0, Goss included, to rescind the session. The legal briefing never happened. The council then went into a second closed session that Villegas himself had asked for, "to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel, the subject being employment matters the city manager has requested to discuss with the city council." It stayed behind closed doors for about 45 minutes and adjourned without taking action. What Villegas discussed with the council that afternoon has not been made public. The city announced Wednesday's special meeting at 10:03 a.m. It opened at 1 p.m. with all five members present, including Goss. On a 5-0 roll-call vote the council recessed into executive session under the Kansas Open Meetings Act's exception for non-elected personnel, "to discuss city manager matters," and set a return time of 2:02 p.m. When the doors reopened, Meggers read a statement: "The City is aware of the public statement issued today by City Manager Enrico Villegas and City Attorney Cody Smith. At this time, neither has formally submitted a resignation to the City. The governing body is requesting formal written resignations so the City can appropriately move forward. We do not have any further information to share at this time." He asked whether any council member had questions. None spoke, and the council adjourned on a second 5-0 vote. Goss voted with the rest of the council on both motions and did not speak during the open portions of the meeting. Under Hutchinson's council-manager form of government, the five-member council hires the city manager, who runs the city's daily business and administers its budget. No interim appointment was announced Wednesday. The council's next scheduled meetings are a budget study session Thursday, Sept. 10, and its regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 5:30 p.m. Why it matters: The two officials who told the council its own member had a conflict of interest are gone, and the member they named is not. The Aug. 27 standoff is the only time the conflict has been argued in public, and the council's response was to cancel the briefing rather than rule on the recusal. Villegas and Smith said their departure "does not change or diminish the concerns we raised" about Hutch Rec and the two foundations, which are the subject of a Kansas attorney general's investigation. Every discussion of those concerns since has happened in executive session. Citizen Journal's earlier coverage: [Council dropped closed briefing on Hutch Rec investigation after Goss declined to step aside, minutes show ](https://www.citizenjournal.us/council-dropped-closed-briefing-on-hutch-rec-investigation-after-goss-declined-to-step-aside-minutes-show/)and the [Aug. ](https://www.citizenjournal.us/hutchinson-city-council-summary-13/)[ 28 council summary](https://www.citizenjournal.us/hutchinson-city-council-summary-13/). *This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our* [*AI policy*](https://www.citizenjournal.us/ai-policy/)*.* --- --- Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: [Contact Us](https://www.citizenjournal.us/contact/) ---