Pluckhahn, who has served as city manager since late 2024, sat with members of the public during the meeting and declined to answer reporters' questions afterward. He will be placed on paid administrative leave until his termination is finalized at a regular council meeting on Dec. 14. Deputy City Manager Lisa Brandl will serve as acting city manager until a permanent replacement is found.

After the meeting, Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle read a statement describing the firing as the result of "ongoing evaluations of the city manager's performance and the city's long-term strategic direction during executive sessions over the past year."

City Councilor Sarah Fox said the council voted to remove Pluckhahn "without cause" because giving a reason would be "extremely damaging to a person's career." She added, "But I would imagine folks that have watched council meetings over the past year probably could have picked up on some things without us calling them out individually at this time."

The city manager position functions like a CEO for Vancouver, responsible for developing biennial budgets, implementing council priorities, and managing city departments.

The firing comes amid growing tensions between city officials over how to expand city limits. In recent weeks, questions arose about the city's financial planning as officials considered annexing Vancouver's urban growth area into city limits as part of the 2027-28 biennium budget. Various proposed scenarios would have added tens of millions of dollars to the city's deficit by making Vancouver responsible for services to communities currently outside city limits.

In late October, former City Manager Eric Holmes sent a letter to councilors expressing concerns about the "fiscal consequences" of the annexation plans. Holmes, who served as city manager for 14 years before Pluckhahn, urged the council not to adopt the annexation proposals, noting the city is already operating under a structural deficit and that current residents would end up paying disproportionate costs for services in absorbed areas.

"However the numbers are reworked, the cost of providing urban services outstrips the capacity of the revenue system meant to support them," Holmes wrote. The annexation proposals were later dropped. The City Council is set to adopt its next budget on Nov. 16.

Earlier this year, Pluckhahn's conduct toward employees came under scrutiny when the city's former chief financial officer, Natasha Ramras, filed a tort claim against the city in February. Ramras alleged retaliation after Pluckhahn fired her, according to The Columbian. In her claim, she described financial and ethical concerns regarding the city's use of public funds and questioned Pluckhahn's hiring of a different candidate for a deputy city manager position after she had applied.

Pluckhahn was hired as city manager in late 2024 after serving as deputy under Holmes. The council's decision to remove him without cause means no specific rationale was given, leaving the public to infer the reasons from recent controversies.