Do you want to see changes to the structure of the Lawrence City Commission?

The City of Lawrence currently operates under a Council-Manager form of government. For more information/background on the current form of government, please watch this video.

Recently, the City Commission worked with City staff to assemble a task force and asked them 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 and ultimately created a report that recommends the following changes to the structure of our city government: 

1. They recommended 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.  
2. They recommended the creation of six districts in the City of Lawrence. The six districts would each elect a non-partisan commissioner who would serve a staggered four-year term. With a staggered schedule, three commissioners would be elected every two years.

If the City adopted these recommendations, we would have a City Commission that is comprised of seven people -- six commissioners and one community-elected Mayor.  

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Now that we’ve received the recommendation from the task force, we want to hear from our community.  

The City Commission is considering adding questions about these recommendations to the ballot in the November 2022 election. But, before any question goes to a City-wide vote, they want to hear whether these potential changes to our government structure reflect the desire of our residents. Please take our short four-question survey and let us know what you think.