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    • Mayor-council form of government not right for Covington
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    Mayor-council form of government not right for Covington

    Sakege Posted on

    In the mayor-council form of government, the city is run by a politician, not a professionally trained city manager.

    Sherry Carran
    | Opinion Contributor

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    A special interest group, Covington Forward, is asking Covington voters to vote to change the city’s form of government. I was mayor of Covington from 2012 to 2016 and I would encourage everyone to vote “no.”

    Covington has had a city manager form of government for over 90 years and has served the city well. The City Commission hires a trained and experienced city manager to manage the daily functions of the city and carry out the policies established by the 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 dismiss all city employees.

    There is no problem to solve by changing the form of government. The people of Covington have not asked to change the form of government. Our Board of Commissioners has made no effort to discuss or debate the need for a change in government. Under the current form of government, if the city manager does not perform to the satisfaction of the City Commission, the commission can fire him (with three votes) and hire a new one.

    In the mayor-council form of government, the city is run by a politician rather than 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.

    Throughout the state of Kentucky and the rest of the country, most cities have the city manager form of government. There have been no reported efforts to change the form of government in those cities.

    If it works, why try to change it? Vote no.

    Sherry Carran is a former commissioner and mayor of Covington.

    Sakege
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