Editing Great Bend, Kansas (section)

==Government==
[[File:Barton county courthouse kansas.jpg|thumb|right|Barton County Courthouse in Great Bend]]
Great Bend is a [[Kansas#Important cities and towns|city of the second class]] with a [[mayor-council government|mayor-council]] form of government.<ref name="gov1">{{cite web | title = Great Bend | work = Directory of Kansas Public Officials | publisher = The League of Kansas Municipalities | url = http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=75 | access-date = November 20, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111213104331/http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=75 | archive-date = December 13, 2011 }}</ref> The [[city council]] consists of eight members, two elected from each city [[Wards of the United States|ward]] for two-year terms.  The [[mayor]] is elected [[Plurality-at-large voting|at-large]], also for a two-year term. The mayor and city council together constitute the city's Governing Body which sets goals, establishes policies, and approves all ordinances and resolutions.<ref>{{cite web | title = Governing Body | publisher = City of Great Bend | url = http://www.greatbendks.net/index.aspx?nid=60 | access-date = February 15, 2010}}</ref> The council meets on the first and third Monday of each month.<ref name="gov1"/>

As the [[county seat]], Great Bend is the administrative center of Barton County. The [[county courthouse]] is located downtown, and most departments of the county government base their operations in the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Offices/Departments | publisher = Barton County, Kansas | url = http://www.bartoncounty.org/Offices.htm | access-date = February 25, 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120309060037/http://www.bartoncounty.org/Offices.htm | archive-date = March 9, 2012 }}</ref>

Great Bend lies within [[Kansas's 1st congressional district|Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District]]. For the purposes of representation in the [[Kansas Legislature]], the city is located in the 33rd district of the [[Kansas Senate]] and the 112th district of the [[Kansas House of Representatives]].<ref name="gov1"/>