KLC City Census: A Glance at General Government within a City

Kentucky’s cities are vitally important to the state’s economy and overall success. Kentucky cities are small, with over 80% possessing a population under 5,000 inhabitants. Yet, despite their small boundaries, our cities are strong and can efficiently provide the critical services that Kentuckians rely on. 

This week’s article will briefly highlight how our city governments are constructed, how they communicate to the public, and the public servants who operate our local governments. The results show that our cities provide services to Kentuckians with a small workforce that is primarily comprised of part-time individuals and volunteers who deeply care for their communities. It is the dedication of local public servants that makes cities the backbone of the Commonwealth. 

Kentucky local governments have different structures and employ unique strategies designed to best serve their local communities. Kentucky cities can operate under six different forms of government, although the vast majority operate under mayor–council, mayor-commissioner, or city manager. Kentucky’s two most populous cities, Louisville and Lexington, are unique and operate under a county-city merged style of government, consolidated local government, and urban county local government, respectively. Below is a table of Kentucky city government forms by population range.

The Kentucky Constitution states that all local government officers (mayors, council members, and commissioners) must be elected. The local government is overseen by an elected mayor that is full-time, part-time, or a volunteer. In Kentucky, approximately 31% of mayors are full-time, 54% are part-time, and 15% are volunteers. KRS 83.030 outlines the number of council members (at least 6 but no more than 12) and commissioners (4) a city may elect under the mayor-council, mayor-commissioner, and city manager form of government.  

Approximately 84% of responding cities with a mayor-council form of government have 6 council members. All responding cities with a city manager and mayor-commissioner form of government have 4 commissioners.  

Kentucky cities rely on hard-working and selfless individuals to provide the services that they rely on every day. Based upon the City Census results, responding cities employ approximately 19,850 full-time individuals, despite approximately 25% of cities employing none. In total, responding cities employ approximately 24,500 full-time, part-time, seasonal, or volunteer individuals. It is important to note that over 50% of responding cities employ less than 10 individuals to deliver the critical services that cities provide.  

Kentucky cities communicate with their citizens in a variety of ways. According to the City Census, approximately 55% provide mailed notices or newsletters, 28% email a notice or newsletter, 32% provide text alerts, and 74% use some form of social media to communicate a city’s news. Nearly 98% of responding cities use more than one method of communication to reach its citizens.  

Kentucky’s cities play a critical role in the lives of its citizens daily. From the water that comes from the tap to the roads driven on to reach our loved ones, our locally elected municipal officials make decisions that impact our daily lives. Cities efficiently provide these critical services with limited resources and manpower. Some can provide them only with sweat and dedication from volunteers. 

The next article will further highlight the importance of local government and how it finances its services. Following the conclusion of the KLC City Census series, a detailed report of the full survey results and an analysis of municipal research will become available.