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

A bigger home is a better home. That is a notion that has won the day many times in Lawrence, but it’s not doing much to help the community win its battle for affordable housing, Rebecca Buford, executive director of Tenants to Homeowners, said. “Some of what has to happen here is a change in mindset,” Buford said. Indeed, Buford’s Lawrence-based nonprofit has filed plans at City Hall for a new affordable housing development in eastern Lawrence that intends to add about a half-dozen new homes to the market but also change some minds about smaller homes.
Source: LJWorld