COVINGTON, KY. – The mayor of Covington will likely have a lot more power by 2029 – and a higher paycheck. 

Those changes are among several that city commissioners will consider in the coming weeks as local committee members reconfigure how government and day-to-day operations in Northern Kentucky’s largest city should run.

For the first time in about a century, the city is moving away from a city manager-run form of government to what’s known as a strong mayor system. It’s part of an overhaul voters approved last fall. The changes will go into effect in 2029.

Here’s what you need to know about the government changes:

Why is the Covington government changing?

About 61% of voters cast a ballot in favor of the changes that include a strong mayor system.

That style of government gives the mayor direct authority over city departments, staff and the general day-to-day running of the city.

It also eliminates the position of city manager, who has traditionally had those responsibilities and acted as a buffer between elected officials and city staff.

The Committee on Form of Government Transition was created after the election to hash out the changes. Roughly 30 to 40 people applied to be on the committee. Nine voting members and seven non-voting members were selected from that pool.

Since January, the committee has met three times a month, conducted surveys, hosted two in-person forums, and solicited online and mail-in feedback about the process. 

What will change?

Last week, Committee Administrator Sebastian Torres presented the group’s first recommendations to Covington city commissioners at a caucus meeting. They include:

• A 185% increase in the mayor’s salary from $33,395.58 annually to a maximum of $95,335.76.
• A 33% pay decrease for city commissioners from $26,680.73 annually to a maximum of $17,787.15.
• Six city commissioners instead of four.

Torres told The Enquirer the proposed pay rates were primarily based on two factors: comparative data from other Kentucky cities and the expected workload change for elected officials.

“Currently, the mayor is working 50-plus hours a week,” he said. “If we’re going to encourage anyone, who’s frankly not retired … to run for this position … the position is going to need to have a (market rate) full-time salary attached to it.”

A higher salary will be necessary when the city no longer has a city manager and the mayor takes on additional duties, Torres said.

Other similarly sized cities in Kentucky, like Florence and Georgetown, pay their mayors salaries in the same range, according to data collected by the committee.

Meanwhile, Torres said, the workload for commissioners will decrease because they will no longer have to vote on issues like employment contracts.

The committee is recommending a larger county commission based on the data, surveys of residents and in-person comments, Torres said. He provided copies of the surveys which reflect that preference.

What’s next?

In the coming weeks, commissioners could approve, deny, or ask for changes to the committee’s recommendations.

They’ll do that for the first time at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. May 13 at city hall.

If commissioners approve the recommendations as-is, they’ll consider them again in a second reading, which could happen as soon as May 27.

Meanwhile, the committee will keep working on other government change details.

“Now we’re going to turn our attention to the city government structure, how we do things, and look for opportunities to kind of reshape how the government is, in itself, a body, (and) how we get our work done,” Torres said.

Committee meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period. The committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at city hall, with more information on the Covington city website.

In Mark Pope’s first two seasons as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, he has largely built his rosters through the transfer portal rather than recruiting. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t looking to add top high school players going forward.

The Wildcats coaching staff has been in contact with multiple highly rated recruits in the 2026 class. One of the more recent names to pop up is Jalen Montonati, who has spoken with assistant coach Alvin Brooks III.

Montonati is a 6’7″, 175 lb small forward out of Oklahoma. He is currently rated four stars, and is the number 24 overall player in the 2026 class according to 247Sports. Some outlets have him as a top 20 player.

A number of programs have already made offers to Montonati, including Kansas, Houston, Arkansas, and the Tennessee Volunteers. Kentucky hasn’t officially made an offer yet, but that could be coming.

Visit UKWildcatsWire for continuing coverage of recruiting, and follow @UKWildcatsWire on X for more Kentucky sports news.

A former Kentucky superintendent was sentenced May 7 at the federal courthouse in Owensboro on charges related to sexual exploitation of children.

U.S. District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Matthew D. Constant, the former Owensboro Public Schools superintendent, to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime supervised release for:

• Two counts of online enticement of a minor
• Three counts of receipt of child pornography
• Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
• Two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor

Court records state Constant “knowingly received child pornography” on or about Dec. 3, 2019. The nine charges span events from that day until April 26, 2023.

Constant, who served as superintendent in Owensboro from 2020 to May 2023, was arrested by Kentucky State Police in July 2023 after KSP received a tip about an inappropriate relationship between the school administrator and a student.

Owenboro’s Board of Education voted unanimously in June 2023 to suspend Constant without pay, then began to terminate his contract “for conduct unbecoming of a superintendent,” according to the Owensboro Times.

While criminal charges had not yet been filed in June 2023, the school board told the Owensboro Times it had been informed by police that Constant “did engage in a relationship with an adult-aged student enrolled in another school district.”

A grand jury indicted Constant in August 2024 on charges related to three separate minors. The case was quickly sealed under state law.

Court records show it was unsealed within a week, while Constant was being held in the Henderson County Detention Center. On Aug. 22, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to a court order.

Due a protective order brought forward by U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, many of the details of the case remain under seal.

Constant withdrew his guilty plea on Feb. 11, instead pleading guilty to all counts. He did not enter a plea agreement, according to court records.

A sentencing memorandum filed May 5 and written by his attorney, Bryce L. Caldwell, states: “Mr. Constant makes no excuses for his actions and fully accepts the consequences of his catastrophic, illegal choices.”

Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter, with a focus on the health and safety of athletes. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.