KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A conflict between Kansas City's mayor and the City Council came to a head again Wednesday when a committee considered a plan that would limit his wife's activities at City Hall.

Just after that meeting Wednesday morning, Mayor Mark Funkhouser seemed genuinely offended by what happened.

Wednesday afternoon, he urged the ordinance's original supporters to re-examine it before voting in full council, saying that what advanced out of committee Wednesday is "completely different" than what the original co-sponsors signed on to.

Funkhouser criticized council members who stepped into a back room throughout Wednesday's committee testimony before, where he said they made significant changes to the ordinance before the committee voted to approve it.

The ordinance would bar family members from volunteering in the same city office where a relative works.

It comes on the heels of a lawsuit against the mayor's wife.

The mayor said the ordinance is clearly about his wife, whom he calls his personal assistant, as it exempts all volunteers but her.

"I would like to reach out to the council. I would like to get past this. I would like to focus on the real work of the city. But I don't feel that it's me who's keeping this in the news at a time that we should be focusing on the light rail election, on fixing the sewers, on delivering basic services," Funkhouser said.

He said council relations were still his No. 1 priority and said he'd like to declare a truce, asking the council to wait until after the light rail election two months from Wednesday before voting on this.

As it is, the council could vote on it as soon as Thursday.