Transition committee meets to adopt mission, timeline,
formal plans to gather public input
COVINGTON, Ky. – As early as mid-October, Covington residents should have a better grasp of what the city’s future governing body will likely look like, including the number of Council members and how they will be elected.
That’s according to a timeline adopted by the newly formed Committee on Form of Government Transition, which met for the first time Wednesday night. The committee’s role is to make recommendations on Covington’s move from a City Manager form of government to a Mayor-Council form over the next two years, as approved by voters last November.
The committee’s mission work will be deep and broad but involve a lot of flexibility, said its chairman, Mayor Ron Washington, since “state law really does not give much guidance to the transition committee.”
But, he emphasized, the Covington public – including residents and those who own businesses or work in the city – will have many opportunities to make their voices heard.
Besides Washington, the committee includes eight other citizen voting members, seven ex-officio members, and a staff administrator.
In addition to introductions and the adoption of internal rules and procedures, discussion and action at the meeting included a broad range of topics, as summarized below:
Timeline: The committee will produce an initial progress report by June 30, a list of recommendations related to the new City Council by Oct. 17, and a comprehensive final report by May 1, 2026. The work will take the form of recommendations that must be approved by the current five-member Board of Commissioners.
Meeting schedule: The committee will meet roughly once a month at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 20 West Pike St. All meetings are open to the public and will be advertised.
Public input: Preliminary plans are to host two community forums in early March in the north and south parts of the city, plus an online survey focusing on council structure and representation. Invites to the forums will be published and the survey will be distributed via the City’s robust communications network, which includes emails, websites, social media, and independent media. City staff will soon create a webpage dedicated to the committee’s work.
Mission and goals: The committee’s duties and responsibilities were spelled out in an ordinance adopted by the Commission last December, Commissioners Order 278-24. At Wednesday’s meeting, committee administrator Sebastian Torres (Covington’s Director of External Affairs and Senior Counsel) and Covington City Solicitor Frank Schulz laid out a broad framework of what that mission will entail on a practical level, including recommendations on:
- The new City Council, including its size (between 6 and 12 members), whether candidates will be elected from districts or at large (or a combination of the two), whether there should be term limits, how often the Council will meet, and members’ salaries and benefits.
- The Mayor’s salary and whether the position of Vice Mayor should be formalized.
- The organizational structure of the departments responsible for delivering City services, including whether the position of city administrator should be created when the city manager position is eliminated.
- Possible changes to the City’s existing boards and commissions, including to their sizes and their scopes.
- Updates to the City’s Code of Ordinances, which will be done primarily by the Legal Department. Many of the bigger changes will move executive authority for City operations and decision-making to the Mayor’s office. Schultz said he hoped by the end of April to have taken a comprehensive look at the Code in order to identify places where material changes were needed. The task will be a significant undertaking and time-consuming, he said.
The committee intends to consult a variety of outside experts, including Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe (who oversees elections), leaders from the Kentucky League of Cities, officials from other cities in Northern Kentucky, and Covington City department heads.
“We are beginning a two-year process that will take considerable research, thought, and analysis, but residents and businesses can be certain that we will engage them throughout the transition to make sure that their voices and concerns are heard and considered,” Torres said.
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The next meeting of the Committee on Form of Government Transition will be 5:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at 20 West Pike St.
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