At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Commission began discussion of possible changes to the City’s form of government, including having a directly elected mayor. At Commissioners’ request, City Attorney Chris Towle prepared a memo outlining the different forms of municipal government in Kansas – Commission, Mayor-Council, Commission-Manager, and Mayor-Council-Manager. Newton currently operates under a Commission-Manager form, with five elected at-large City Commissioners…. A mayor is appointed each year from within the Commission. … Commissioners expressed interest specifically in the Mayor-Council-Manager form of government, which is used in our region by Wichita and Derby. The mayor is a directly elected position with some additional administrative authority compared to the Commission-Manager form. Commissioners said they see value in a mayor serving a longer term, providing continuity of leadership and more time to accomplish goals.
Source: City of Newton
