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At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Commission continued discussion of moving to an independently elected mayor.
Newton currently operates under a Commission-Manager form, with five elected at-large City Commissioners. City elections take place in the fall of odd-numbered years. The top two vote-getters are elected to four-year terms, and the third-place vote-getter serves a two-year term.
A mayor is appointed each year from within the Commission. Commission policy is that the highest vote-getter in the last election is appointed vice mayor and becomes mayor the following year. Following that policy, during the annual reorganization on Tuesday night, Leroy Koehn, the top vote-getter in the 2021 election, was selected as mayor for the ensuing year. Rod Kreie, the second-place vote-getter, was selected as vice mayor.
The mayor conducts Commission meetings and executes contracts on behalf of the City but has no additional authority or voting powers. The Commission hires a professional city manager to serve as the City’s chief executive officer, carrying out the day-to-day operations of the City and working to implement the long-term vision established by the Commission.
Commissioners said they see value in a mayor serving a longer term – perhaps two years – providing continuity of leadership and more time to accomplish goals.
Changing the City’s form of government would require either a citywide election or a Charter Ordinance, which could still be put to a public vote if a protest petition were filed. The Commission also could choose simply to maintain the Commission-Manager form and change Commission policy to extend the length of the mayor’s term.
The Commission directed City staff to work with the City’s new survey provider, FlashVote, to create a community survey to gauge residents’ interest in changing the form of government.
Residents can sign up to participate in FlashVote surveys by visiting www.flashvote.com/NewtonKS or calling 775-235-2240. Sign-up takes less than one minute, and survey data is anonymous. Personal or demographic information collected by FlashVote is never shared with the City or anyone else. When residents sign up, they can determine how their surveys are received – whether by email, text or phone call.
- Tabled a petition from developer Ron Harder for de-annexation of property at Southwest 24th and Old Main. Harder leases the property for wheat farming and is not able to control the geese population because of firearms regulations within the city limits. The Commission directed City staff to bring back potential alternatives, such as amending City ordinance.
- Approved the Newton Public Library Naming Policy.
- Approved a franchise agreement with Butler Rural Electric for fiber.
- Approved an amendment to the 2010 Interlocal Agreement between the City and Harvey County for development of the Kansas Logistics Park that carves out the Tindall property at Southeast 12th and Hillside. This will remove the encumbrance on the title for the property, which has been optioned for purchase by GAF Materials.
- Approved a text amendment to the Tindall Addition plat to allow for an access road.
- Approved a text amendment to Article 3 of the Zoning Regulations to clarify that all existing regulations like nuisance codes still apply to I-3 industrial classifications.
- Conducted a public hearing and amended the 2022 budget to allow for increased fuel sales at Newton City/County Airport and increased business at Sand Creek Station Golf Course.
- Approved retailer applications for cereal malt beverage licenses for 2023.
- Approved cancellations of 2021 bad debts for accounting purposes.
- Approved a resolution outlining the City’s corporate boundaries to include annexations from 2022.
- Appropriated funds for 2023 and ratified 2022 claims for payment.
For more information, please contact Director of Communications Erin McDaniel at 316-284-6055 or emcdaniel@newtonkansas.com.
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