There’s a lot of confusion around the “form of government” ballot question that, if voters approve, could make the city commission into a four-district city council with a nonvoting, directly elected mayor, among other things. The question (as well as one asking to increase the sales tax to support affordable housing and homelessness initiatives) will be on city voters’ Tuesday, Nov. 5 general election ballots. Here’s the text of the question: “Shall the City of Lawrence, Kansas, abandon the Commission-Manager form of government and adopt a Modified Mayor-Council Manager form of government and become a city operating under a Modified Mayor-Council Manager form of government?” That’s all that will appear on the ballot. There will be no further explanation to let people know what that means and what it might look like. That’s because state statutes dictate the language the city has to use for the question.
Source: The Lawrence Times
