KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The ongoing saga between Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the City Council continued Thursday.

Two proposals submitted by the mayor caused hours of pointed debate.

One proposal was to settle the lawsuit against the city by former staffer Ruth Bates. The other was to allocate an additional $40,000 for outside legal expenses to defend that case.

Many barbs were exchanged in the process.

The mayor and the council agreed that the proposed settlement of $135,000 would save taxpayers money. But most councilmembers said they would only agree to the mayor's proposed settlement on that suit if he was willing to drop the suit he filed calling the city's volunteer ordinance unconstitutional, which the mayor repeatedly refused to do.

Gloria Squitiro, the mayor's wife, who volunteered as his assistant, was at the heart of both the former staffer's suit and the mayor's suit.

The City Council passed an ordinance effectively banning Squitiro from volunteering in the mayor's office then the major sued the city over the ordinance.

In the end, only two people besides the mayor voted in favor of that settlement -- Russ Johnson and Bill Skaggs -- and no one expect the mayor voted yes on the money for legal fees.