City of Eudora November 6th Referendum: Form of Governmen

t
On June 25th, the Eudora City Council decided to ask the citizens of Eudora to approve a referendum shifting the existing organization of city government from Mayor-Council to a Commission-Manager. On November 6th, 2012, as part of the regular general election, Eudora voters will be asked to approve this measure.

The change in form of government will transition the make-up of the governing body from five Council members and one Mayor to five Commissioners. A Mayor would be selected from the elected Commissioners each year. The City Council believes Eudora residents will benefit from the transition in form of government is several ways and the following is only a small explanation of the benefits:

1. Political power is concentrated in the entire governing body. The Mayor and Council share legislative functions.

2. Policy making resides with elected officials, while oversight of the day-to-day operations of the community resides with a City Manager. In this way, the elected officials are free to devote time to policy planning and development.

3. The City Manager carries out the policies established by the elected governing body with an emphasis on effective, efficient, and equitable service delivery

4. Because decisions on policy and the future of the community are made by the entire governing body rather than a single individual, council-manager governments more often engage and involve their residents in decision making. Residents guide their community by serving on boards and commissions, participating in visioning and strategic planning, and designing community-oriented local government services

Ballot Language

The form of government question voters will be asked to approve on the November 6th ballot will appear in the following manner:

“Shall the City of Eudora, Kansas, abandon the mayor-council form of government in favor of a commission-manager form of government under K.S.A. 12-1001 et seq., with a city manager to be appointed by an elected city commission, as proposed by City Resolution No. 2012-07, which was approved by the governing body on June 25th, 2012.”

A “YES” vote will approve the form of government change and a “NO” vote will keep the existing system in place. If approved, the Commission-Manager form of government will go into effect after the April 2013 regular city election.

As presented in the Kansas Statutes, the Commission-Manager plan if unaltered after being adopted calls for three commissioners and a ward system for electing commissioners. The Eudora City Council has prepared and will adopt charter ordinances to ensure five city commissioners are elected and that they are all elected at large.

Stay Informed

Citizens will receive at least two mailings from the city before the election and the city council will hold public hearings to discuss this issue on the following dates & times: