Laws that lay out the true separation of powers in Covington’s new mayor-council government will come to a vote in the coming weeks.
Several ordinances came before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that would enact the changes for the new structure. The ordinances will undergo a first reading next week.
The board voted to establish an advisory committee to issue recommendations on the transition in 2024 after residents overwhelmingly voted to transition the government from its current city manager form to a mayor-council form. The committee has been meeting regularly since then, and initial laws establishing some of the government structure and allocating additional powers to the mayor’s office in the interim were passed in May of last year.
The ordinances discussed this week include clerical changes to the city’s ordinances, including the Neighborhood Development Code, instantiating the new form. They also lay out the explicit separation of legislative, executive and administrative powers between the mayor and the city council, and enact operational changes for city meetings.
“This is what the legal department, in conjunction with the committee on form of government transition, have been working on for nearly a year and a half now,” said City Solicitor Frank Schultz. “We’ve gone through all of the code of ordinances and provided for not only revisions to bring it in line with the required mayor-council authority but also different areas where there are substantive changes for efficiencies or just different policy reasons.”
Changes enacted by the ordinances would include the following:
- The mayor would now have the right to sign checks on behalf of the city; this power was previously limited to the finance director and the city manager.
- The mayor will have complete, direct supervision over all city departments, officers and employees.
- City council members are forbidden from directly contacting, communicating or inquiring with any city worker, department head or city officer about the goings-on of the city without authorization from the mayor.
- Council members could not independently arrange meetings, inspections or departmental visits with city workers or departments without authorization from the mayor.
- City council members seeking records or other information must do so in writing to the mayor.
- The mayor can allow for some direct communication with city workers for specific purposes.
- The council members could not use their positions to influence or otherwise direct city workers to do tasks.
- In spite of the above prohibitions, the city council as a body would retain investigative powers as guaranteed under state law.
- Residents and constituents would still be allowed to contact the city council members with questions and concerns, but any requests for assistance must then be routed through the mayor’s office.
- The mayor’s salary is allowed to undergo cost-of-living adjustments.
- The city council would meet twice a month, instead of four times a month like now, on the second and fourth Tuesday at 6 p.m. (except in December).
- Caucus meetings would be eliminated; all meetings would be legislative, meaning votes can be cast at all meetings.
Many of these changes reflect typical power arrangements under mayor-council governments, which are also called strong mayor governments due to the amount of administrative and executive power granted to mayors under the form. Mayor-council governments are the most common form of government in Northern Kentucky, and once Covington makes its transition in 2027, Newport will be the only remaining city manager government in the region.
Read LINK nky’s explainer here to learn more about the different government forms in the region.
With the mayor soon to take on much of the official responsibility for running the city, all this moves the city council’s role largely to one of developing and setting a city budget and engaging in investigative duties as set out by state law.
Conflict over the role and powers of city councils and mayors is not unheard of. In the neighboring cities of Ludlow and Erlanger, for instance, mayors and council members have clashed over the explicit duties of each role.
The board of commissioners will perform a first reading the ordinances at their meeting next on Nov. 17. The board will cast a final vote on Dec. 1. The mayor-council form of government itself will take effect on the first day of 2027.
Complete proposed updates to the city’s ordinances can be found on the city’s website here.
You can read the proposed changes related to administrative powers and communications here.
Read the proposed ordinance governing meeting schedules here.
