Charter draft approved
Voters will have final say in April 2 election
SIKESTON - A draft of the Home Rule Charter was approved by commissioners 10-2 with one commissioner abstaining during Monday's charter commission meeting.
Although the vote "doesn't lock it in concrete," according to Harry Sharp, commission chairman, it does give commissioners a draft to present at upcoming public hearings.
After receiving input from the public, commissioners hope to finalize the Home Rule Charter in January. The deadline is March 1 for a final draft which will be voted on at the April election, according to commissioners.
One of two remaining sticking points will be examined in more detail at the next meeting as commissioners voted 8-4 to invite former Sikeston mayors to speak at the next charter commission meeting.
The primary topics of discussion will be strong versus weak mayors and whether the mayor should be selected by peers on the council or at large by the public.
"If you can get a half-dozen former mayors, they can tell you how it worked or didn't work," said Steve Sikes, vice chairman. "I do think its worthy of discussion or revisiting the issue."
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Sue Rogers expressed concern regarding what qualifications would be required for a strong mayor as a strong mayor would have a broader range of responsibilities and require additional skills.
The next topic of discussion for commissioners was regarding the second paragraph of section b3 in Article 6.9 (Administration of Budget) which reads: "In addition to any statutory, common law or defacto duties, and/or powers possessed by the Board of Municipal Utilities, such duties and powers shall also include the power to make a voluntary transfer of its funds to the general revenue account of the City of Sikeston to be expended for any lawful municipal purpose."
"I'd like to leave that paragraph out," said Scott Matthews, commissioner.
Commissioner Manuel Drumm, siding with Matthews and Sikes on this issue, said that since Sikeston residents pay through raised utility rates when the BMU operates at a loss, "if there's a profit, it should go back to the people who paid for the loss" with lower utility rates.
Drumm also said BMU members could approve transfers with or without the paragraph being included in the charter.
City Counselor Charles Leible, who drafted the paragraph, said presently BMU members can make transfers to the city "only if considered a lawful board purpose," which would not include transfers to the city for any other purchases.
Transfers not related to BMU purposes could be made only with the permission of the bond insurer, he added.
The passage was drafted "to expand the definition ... to specifically include the transfer of funds to the city of Sikeston," according to Leible. "They don't have that power today."
Leible agreed that Drumm raised a valid concern regarding power rates being raised to fund special city projects, but said the clause merely gave the BMU board discretion if they were to see a need in the city.
Drumm said the clause would not change a thing, but may raise a "red flag" for the Home Rule Charter's approval.
Sikes expressed concern that if included the paragraph could be used in the future to exert pressure on BMU members for regular transfers of "a couple of million" each year.
"Government gets very used to that sort of money," said Sikes.
The discussion ended with a 10-3 vote to leave the paragraph in.
During discussion of strategies for educating the public on the charter's contents, Matthews recommended one of the two public hearings should be held during the day at about 10 a.m. so Sikeston residents who work nights would be able to attend.
Commissioners also approved 10-3 a legal review by "another set of eyes" with a cost-cap of $2,000 and agreed on Springfield's city attorney to complete the review as Springfield also has a city utility company.