Written by Robert Horine
In November, Covington voters will be asked if they want to change the form of government for the City. I encourage all to vote NO.
The general electorate of Covington has not asked to change the form of government. There is no problem to be solved by changing the form of government. There has not been any public discussion or debate of the need for a change of government. This effort is being led by a small group of people who likely see some advantage to themselves by changing the form of government.
The City has had a City Manager form of government for over 90 years, and it has served the City well. In short, the City is governed by an elected Mayor and four Commissioners (known collectively as the City Commission), each of the five elected officials holding one equal vote. It takes a majority of three to pass any legislation. The City Commission hires a trained and experienced City Manager to administer the daily functions of the City and carry out policies established by the City Commission.
The proposed Mayor—Council form of government places all executive authority in the hands of a single elected official—the Mayor. A City Council of 6 to 12 members has authority to pass legislation, but yields all other authority to the Mayor. There is no requirement for the Mayor to hire professional staff to assist or advise, and any staff who is hired must follow the directives of the Mayor, who has the power to appoint and remove all city employees.
Given the choice between these forms of government, I trust the combined judgement of a majority of the City Commission, advised by a professional city manager, over the judgement of one person whose only qualification is the ability to get elected.
In the current form of government, if the City Manager is not performing to the satisfaction of the City Commission, the Manager can be fired and a new Manager hired. In the Mayor-Council form of government, if the City elects a bad mayor, they have four years to wreak havoc before a new mayor can be elected (unless they commit some criminal act that warrants their removal).
The City Manager form of government works very well in larger cities that deliver a full range of city services. Across the state of Kentucky, many larger cities have the city manager form of government, including Newport, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah, Henderson, Frankfort, Ashland, Maysville and many others. I am not aware of any efforts to change the form of government in these cities now or in the past. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. Vote NO.