Residents press for 'city manager' petition and criticize council process

Several residents used the public-comment period at the Sept. 5 special meeting to urge moving from Howe’s current 'strong mayor' form to a council–manager government.

A resident who cited election figures said 20% of the last federal election turnout — calculated as 72 signatures given a 357-vote base in 2023 — would be required to place a charter-change petition. "We need 20% of that in signatures for a petition to change our form of government ... 72 signatures on our petition," the commenter said. Others asked how to educate voters about the implications of changing government form.

Public commenters also criticized how personnel and agenda items were handled, questioned whether proper procedure was followed in prior interviews and hiring, and urged the council to follow legal process. Those concerns were raised alongside public defenses of the city administrator and criticisms of mayoral conduct.