Weak mayor or strong mayor? That was a question in 2009 that was studied by the 14-member citizens committee appointed by the city commission to look at a possible change in the form of government in Iola. Every city within a many-mile radius of Iola had either adopted the mayor-council system at its founding or changed from a commission.
The endeavor to change came because many of our citizens wanted a greater voice in city government. The committee studied and compared the format of mayor-council. One of the first unanimous decisions was Iola should have a “weak mayor” system should it change to the mayor-council form. The thought was that Iola didn’t need any form of czar.
But Kansas state statute stipulates that when a mayor-council form of government is first implemented the default form shall be the strong mayor. With a strong mayor system the mayor runs the city. (Apparently the Legislature of that day wanted any new city to know who was boss.)