Written by Sherry Carran, former commissioner and mayor of Covington
Covington voters are being asked by a special interest group, Covington Forward, to vote to change the form of government for the City. I served as Mayor of the City from 2012 to 2016, and I would encourage all to vote NO.
The City has had a City Manager form of government for over 90 years, and it has served the City well. The City Commission hires a trained and experienced City Manager to administer the daily functions of the City and carry out policies established by a majority of the City Commission. The people of Covington have access to all decisions made by the Commission.
The proposed Mayor—Council form of government places all executive authority in the hands of a single elected official—the Mayor. The Mayor would have the power to appoint and remove all city employees.
There is no problem to be solved by changing the form of government. The people of Covington have not asked to change the form of government.
There has been no effort made by our Board of Commissioners to discuss or debate the need for a change of government.
In the current form of government, if the City Manager is not performing to the satisfaction of the City Commission, the Commission can fire the Manager (with three votes) and hire a new one.
In the Mayor-Council form of government, the city is operated by a politician and not a professionally trained city manager. If the City elects a bad mayor, that mayor has four years to wreak havoc before a new mayor can be elected.
Across the state of Kentucky and the rest of the country, the majority of cities have the city manager form of government. There has been no reporting of any efforts to change the form of government in those cities. Â
If it is working, why try to change it? Vote NO.