May 5, 2022
In 2021, the City Commission worked with City staff to assemble a City Government Study Task Force. They asked the Task Force to review the current form of our City Commission structure and provide any recommended changes for their consideration.
The Task Force met for several months in 2021 and considered community values along with their own experiences with local government, academic research, correspondence with other local government experts and review of government structures in similar communities. Ultimately, the task force created a report, which recommends the following changes to the structure of our city government:
- First: They recommend the direct election of a nonpartisan mayor to a four-year term. The mayor would be elected by City of Lawrence voters at-large. According to the task force, directly electing a nonpartisan mayor to a four-year term would provide both greater focus and continuity than the current one-year term. Furthermore, campaigns for mayor could potentially improve our community’s discussions over the city’s future and increase resident interest in municipal government. The directly elected mayor would continue to be a voting member of the commission.
- Second: They recommend the creation of six districts in the City of Lawrence. The six districts would each elect a nonpartisan commissioner who would serve a staggered four-year term. With a staggered schedule, three commissioners would be elected every two years.
Now the City Commission wants to hear from the community on these recommendations as it considers adding a question based on these recommendations to the ballot in the November 2022 election.
Community members are invited to share their thoughts and opinions via our Lawrence Listens survey: lawrenceks.org/listens/surveys or by email at governmentrestructure@lawrenceks.org.
The City is also hosting two hybrid meetings to provide the opportunity for community members to share their perspectives. The upcoming Zoom meetings will be at the following times, and people can find the meeting registration links in the Proposed Government Restructure portal on the City’s community engagement website: lawrenceks.org/community-engagement.
- Monday, May 16 from 6 to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 24 from 6 to 7 p.m.
More information is also available in the Proposed Government Structure portal on the City’s community engagement website: lawrenceks.org/community-engagement.
Contact: Porter Arneill, Director of Communications and Creative Resources, parneill@lawrenceks.org.