Local legislators’ primary responsibilities, whether in Kentucky or anywhere in the U.S., are to set local laws, tax policies, and allocate funding for public services such as police, fire and public works.
They also work to encourage economic development and business growth, foster the pubic image and reputation of a city, (sometimes) issue zoning decisions and appoint people to various governing boards.
Finally, local officials can effectively advocate for the needs of their communities at the state and national levels, so it’s essential to be well-informed about who represents your community at the municipal level.
Types of municipal governments in Kentucky
Local governments in Northern Kentucky are split into three types: mayor-council governments (also known as strong mayor governments), city manager governments and commissions. Mayor-council governments are the most common, both in NKY and the commonwealth generally. There are other types of governments throughout the state, but only those three are at play in NKY.
Consult the table below to find out which type of government operates in your city.
The mayor-council model most closely resembles the division of powers at the state and national level – a city council acts as the city legislature and votes on laws. City councils in Kentucky can have between six and 12 council members, a number that’s set by local law.
The mayor, meanwhile, acts as the central executive. In this system, mayors don’t usually vote on laws, except to break a tie among the council members. The mayor does, however, have the power to veto laws, but, in truth, this occurs rarely. A council can override a mayor’s veto with enough votes.
Mayor-council governments are not required to have administrative officers, like city managers or city administrators, but many of the larger cities will appoint a full time administrator anyway because elected positions usually aren’t full time. Administrative officers are responsible for managing the day-to-day work of running the city, but lack formal voting power.
Pay and benefits for elected officials are also set by local law. It’s usually not much, but there are some exceptions.
“It’s a serious job that I wouldn’t suggest anybody take on unless they were genuinely wanting to – because you’re not going to make any money – genuinely wanting to serve their local government,” said former Covington Commission Member Steve Hayden, who left office in 2024.
The commission model is a little different. In a city commission, executive and legislative power is spread out between a four-member commission and a mayor. All five officials cast votes on local laws and no one has veto power. Smaller cities tend to employ the commission model.
Additionally, under the commission model, commissioners are assigned to head up the different departments of the city, such as public works. Professional administrators may still be employed to run the day-to-day. Like the mayor-council model, commissions aren’t required to have administrative officers, but, again, some cities may employ them anyway to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Finally, there is the city manager form of government. Only two cities in NKY employ the city manager model, Covington and Newport, and Covington is in the process of converting to a mayor-council model. The new government form will take effect in 2027.
The city manager form of government is a little peculiar. It formed as a reaction to the machine politics of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which were rife with corruption and political favoritism.
To start with, its structure more closely resembles that of a commission system in that it has a four-member board of commissioners and a mayor who shares executive and legislative power. Mayors are responsible for running meetings, signing contracts and acting as the public face of the city, but they lack the centralized executive power they have in the mayor-council system.
From there, the city manager government tosses the requirement for the commissioners to head up the professional departments of the city and mandates the city have an administrative officer, a city manager. City managers are appointed by the board of commissioners and serve in their roles full time. While voting power lies with the board, officially the city employees work for the city manager.
“Commissioners are not involved in the day-to-day supervision of employees,” said Morgain Patterson, director of municipal law for the Kentucky League of Cities. “They cannot independently hire or fire an employee. They cannot make unilateral decisions on the needs of the city. The board of commissioners really only acts as a complete body in and of itself. They don’t have independent authority, per se.”
The city manager’s other major duty is recommending a city budget and carrying it out once the board votes. The commission has the power to discard a recommended budget or other proposal with a majority vote. The city manager also can’t enter into contracts on behalf of the city, although he can make recommendations.
Since there’s no unilateral power in any branch under both the commission and city manager forms of government, that means that votes on government actions by the elected body occur more frequently than they do under the mayor-council form. That means every staff vacancy, every contract, every budget change, every street naming, every equipment purchase, every public project is subject to a commission vote.
City legislators in Northern Kentucky, regardless of which government form their city uses, all serve two-year terms.
Want to learn more about some common quandaries that come up when talking about municipal governments in Kentucky? Check out the Kentucky League of Cities’ Legal FAQ page.