Committee moves to add judge-appointed chair to redistricting commission and discusses city-auditor timeline

The Policy & Finance Committee reviewed summary recommendations from the Citizens Government Review Committee and advanced a small, specific change on Nov. 12: the committee voted to direct staff to draft language adding a tenth member to the redistricting commission, appointed by the administrative judge of the Topeka Municipal Court, who would serve as the commission chair.

Committee members and former review-committee participants said the addition is intended to reduce perceived incumbent bias in mapping and to provide an at-large, independent chair. "If you just got to draw the lines cleanly, simple, independent, representative," former review-committee member Zach Saret said, arguing the at-large judge-appointed chair would remove pressure to preserve incumbents' home addresses.

Several members asked staff to provide charter language and to clarify whether incumbent addresses are currently protected by ordinance or charter; staff said they would verify charter text and return with suggested language. Former review-committee chair Jim Kout requested that the review committee receive notice when these items come back to committee so members can appear and give fuller context beyond the written summary.

A review-committee member also highlighted the group's recommendation to create an Office of the City Auditor and urged the committee to begin budget and timing conversations early so the office could be considered in the next budget cycle.

The committee approved forwarding the judge-appointed-member change to legal for drafting and asked staff to notify review-committee members when their recommendations appear on future agendas.

Next steps: staff will draft the proposed charter/ordinance language to add the tenth member and circulate notices to the Citizens Government Review Committee; budget discussions for an auditor position will be scheduled in the coming budget cycle.