FERGUSON, Mo. — Ferguson's city council meeting came to an abrupt end Tuesday night when Mayor James Knowles shut down public comments.
He said he's been battling rumors that the city faces dissolution for financial issues, stemming from a seemingly small hypothetical statement made in court Jan. 8.
"In trying to be transparent, sometimes it causes alarm," Knowles said.
City leaders meet with federal attorneys in court periodically to assess progress made under the Consent Decree, which was put in place by the Department of Justice in the aftermath of the unrest following the death of Michael Brown.
It was at one of those status conferences where Interim City Manager Jeffrey Blume laid out some of the city's financial concerns — pending lawsuits, ongoing legal fees, and costs associated with the upcoming federal census — and issued the warning.
If costs associated with the Consent Decree became too extreme, it could force Ferguson leaders to dissolve the city.
"I fielded a lot of questions on that very issue... emails, social media... and at our last City Council meeting earlier this month," Knowles said.
Knowles gave an impassioned explanation Jan. 14, explaining Blume's hypothetical situation is the same any municipality would face if saddled mounting costs beyond their control.
Knowles said the city is not in imminent danger of dissolution, and nobody in the council would want to see an outcome like that.
"I would hate to think that I wasted my whole adult life, and I don’t think anybody up here would think that they are wasting their time either," Knowles told the Jan. 14 crowd.
Video is not posted from Tuesday night, in which public comments were so heated they cut the council meeting short.
Knowles instead said the city is in the best financial shape it's been in since the unrest five years ago.
The pension's fully funded, unlike most American pension funds. And Moody's has upgraded their credit rating.
But the costs of funding oversight for the Consent Degree still hangs over their heads, so Knowles said constituents will be briefed at the next council meeting about their projected end date and the final costs associated with meeting the requirements.
