photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., Thursday, July 7, 2016

The City of Lawrence could soon begin gathering public input regarding potential changes to how the mayor and commissioners are elected and other changes to the governing body.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission is scheduled to receive an update on the process to consider changes to the commission’s structure. City staff is proposing public input be collected in May in order for the commission to make a decision in June regarding whether potential changes should be put on the ballot for a vote.

The city has not reconsidered its government structure in 70 years, and the commission created a task force last year to study the issue. In May 2021, the task force voted unanimously to recommend that the city consider a system with a directly elected mayor and a six-member commission elected by districts.

Currently, the commission consists of five members, serving four- or two-year terms, and all five members are elected at large, meaning that all represent the city as a whole. The commission chooses one of its own members each year to serve a one-year term as mayor — by tradition, commissioners choose based on whoever received the most votes in the most recent election, though exceptions have occurred.

If the commission decides to move forward with an election based on the public input received, the commission would need to decide what changes to propose as part of the ballot questions, according to a city staff memo to the commission. That includes setting the proposed term of office of the directly elected mayor and the membership and terms of the other city commissioners. If the commission wants the proposition to be placed on the ballot for the general election in Nov. 2022, the commission needs to approve the ballot language and submit it to the Douglas County clerk no later than Sept. 1.

The previous commission — before newcomers Bart Littlejohn and Amber Sellers replaced outgoing commissioners Stuart Boley and Jennifer Ananda in December — already directed city staff to get public input on potential changes to the commission’s structure at a meeting in June 2021, but city staff has not yet proceeded with that process. The topic is part of the city manager’s report section of Tuesday’s meeting, as opposed to a regular agenda item, and the memo states that staff will proceed with public input unless the commission directs otherwise.

The Lawrence City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.