City Administrator or Mayor?

Cheyenne voters will decide whether or not they want a city administrator or strong mayor form of government during a special election on November 10th.

The Cheyenne City Council, Monday night, gave final approval to a charter ordinance establishing the position of city administrator.

"Everybody has an opinion on this one way or another," said Ward II Councilman Dicky Shanor. "Our constituents matter, your opinion matters on this, it's time for you to vote on it."

Mayor Rick Kaysen and Ward III Councilmen Jim Brown and Richard Johnson voted against the ordinance.

"I think we should have a special election, but I'd rather the people of the city who had to sign a petition have it circulated throughout the city to get those signatures," said Brown. "To really get the public involved would have been a better way to have a special election."

Shanor says educating the voters will be key.

"We'll have to put together work sessions, town hall meetings, work with the media and explain all the differences and all the different terms out there and what exactly this means so that when voters go to the ballot box in November they'll understand what exactly it is and what the pros and cons of it are," said Shanor.

The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, which pushed to get the referendum on the ballot, will have a forum on August 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn.

"One way or another, let's vote on it in November and move on as a city forward and embrace what the people voted on and make Cheyenne a better place," said Shanor.

If backed by voters, the city administrator would start in January of 2017.