Cypress councilmembers have tapped Assistant City Manager and Finance Director Matt Burton to fill the top administration job in the interim following the resignation last week of longtime city manager Peter Grant.
Grant’s departure was publicly announced by City Attorney Fred Galante during Monday’s council session, Aug. 25, though Grant had notified city staff of his resignation in an Aug. 18 email, following multiple closed-session employee evaluations by the council. At the end of the last closed session discussion on Aug. 11, councilmembers directed Galante to take action, though the nature of that action was not disclosed at the meeting and was not discussed at this week’s meeting.
“I worked closely with Peter Grant for 11 years. I considered him a mentor and appreciated all the guidance he gave me. I wish him nothing but the best,” Burton said. “It has also been a very challenging few months for city staff and department directors. I’m grateful for the City Council’s support in allowing me to assist on a temporary basis to see the city through this transition.”
Several residents criticized Mayor David Burke at Monday’s meeting, accusing him of driving Grant’s departure.
“Meeting after meeting, the mayor has questioned the credibility and capability of various department heads. He’s demanded to see the data they use to arrive at well-reasoned decisions,” resident John Pete said, adding he also believes a previous allegation of “unlawful acts of misconduct” by Grant raised at an April council meeting by a former public works director was staged to draw media attention.
Grant said last week that complaint, “which is the only one against me in the entire time I was city manager, is nearly a year and a half old” and the council at the time “took it seriously and acted appropriately. The matter was closed in November 2024.”
Councilmember Scott Minikus also accused Burke of intentionally scheduling a “surprise” special meeting on Aug. 11 while he was out of town.
“I came back briefly, and David scheduled the last meeting — the meeting in which these three decided that the city manager should no longer be here,” Minikus said.
Burke quickly cut him off, saying he was not comfortable with Minikus disclosing, even theoretically, the content of a closed session meeting he had not attended. Galante then cautioned Minikus against revealing any information from the closed session.
The suggestion that a meeting was scheduled with the intent of excluding any councilmembers is completely false, Burke said later in an interview.
Multiple attempts were made to obtain each councilmember’s availability for the special meeting, he said. “Some council members flat out refused to provide their availability.”
Burke closed out the meeting by acknowledging the frustration shared by some residents over the lack of information around Grant’s resignation. He added that details about personnel issues and items discussed in closed session are limited due to legal agreements that bind councilmembers to confidentiality.
“I want you to know what’s going on in your city. If it were up to me personally, I would be fine waiving closed session confidentiality for every concluded closed session item we’ve had during my time on the council,” Burke said.
“Transitions, you know, they always bring challenges with them, but they also bring opportunities for positive change,” he added. “No matter what transition, our mission, our purpose here remains the same, to make decisions that are in the best interest of the community as a whole.”