Lexington’s first civic assembly will focus on city charter review, council pay

Lexington’s first civic assembly has begun.

The randomly selected group of 36 people from Fayette County will spend the next month learning and debating two topics — Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member compensation and how often the merged government’s charter should be reviewed.

On Sunday, the group met for the first time for an orientation that included speeches and presentations from Mayor Linda Gorton, Vice Mayor Dan Wu and Fayette County Clerk Susan Lamb. It will continue to hold informational sessions and training throughout March.

The group will have final recommendations by March 29. If the group recommends changes, those recommendations will then be forwarded to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for its review.

Any changes approved by council would have to be voted on through a local referendum, assembly organizers have said.

What is a civic assembly?

Sponsored by Civic Lex, a nonprofit focused on improving civic engagement and education in Lexington, the civic assembly is a first in Lexington and in Kentucky.

“Civic assemblies have been used more than 700 times around the world to help communities navigate varied and complex public issues,” said Richard Young, executive director of Civic Lex, in December. “This is the first time Lexington will host one, and we’re eager to see how this model can deepen trust between residents and local government — and inspire a culture of civic engagement by giving Lexingtonians the opportunity to directly shape how our local government works.”

The 36 people who are part of the civic assembly were randomly selected.

The two topics the group will focus on, council compensation and how often the merged government’s charter is reviewed, were picked after a random survey of about 870 people.

According to Civic Lex polling data, compensation of Lexington council members was a divisive topic. Council members make about $40,000 a year for a part-time position. However, the charter does not say the position is part-time.

Multiple council members announced in late 2025 they were not running for reelection. Many cited pay and long hours as a reason why they were not seeking another term.

Civic Lex’s survey showed 43% of respondents think council pay should be increased while 42% of respondents think it should stay the same.

The last time the merged government charter, which was approved by voters in 1972 and took effect Jan. 1, 1974, was reviewed was in 1998. That was a group convened by Commerce Lexington. The group recommended council terms move from two to eight-year terms. The issue was put to voters who voted against the change.

But it appears the public thinks there should be a regular process to review the charter, which is the merged government’s guiding document.

Seventy-three percent of respondents said that the charter should be reviewed regularly, according to Civic Lex survey data.

Civic assemblies, who bring representative but random groups of people together to tackle a policy issue, have been used in Europe and Canada. This is the first time a civic assembly has been overseen by a nonprofit like Civic Lex.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription