Falmouth council unanimously votes to remove mayor from office

FALMOUTH, Ky. (WTVQ) — Falmouth City Council on Tuesday voted to remove its mayor from office after a tumultuous few months.

According to ABC affiliate WCPO, Sebastian Ernst was removed in a unanimous vote after a special hearing following an investigation into allegations of misconduct and/or willful neglect in office.

Council members found Ernst guilty of the three charges they served him with last month.

Those charges accused Ernst of prohibiting a civic organization from using city property, using his personal Facebook page as the official account for the office of the Falmouth mayor and attempting to extort council member Robert Pettit into resignation.

Ernst was not in attendance at Tuesday’s hearing following the Monday birth of his son. He told WPCO he thought the hearing was set for this date intentionally.

The council now has 30 days to appoint a new mayor, according to a representative from the city attorney’s office.

Before Tuesday’s hearing, Ernst told WCPO that if removed from office, he would appeal the decision in circuit court.