CHARTER AMENDMENTS PROPOSED

Cape Girardeau voters will decide the fate of 11 proposed revisions to the city charter, if the Charter Review Committee has its way.

But it remains to be seen whether the City Council will put any or all of the amendments on an election ballot.

"I don't know that we have any obligation to put any particular matter on the ballot," Mayor Al Spradling III said.

Spradling strongly opposes one amendment that would prohibit the city from licensing trades or professions.

Spradling said the move would eliminate the licensing of construction trades, such as plumbers and gas fitters.

The mayor said such a move raises safety concerns.

The council will meet with the 11-member charter committee at 7 tonight at city hall to discuss the recommended revisions.

The charter, adopted by voters in 1981, spells out the basic structure and rules of Cape Girardeau's city government. Voter approval is needed to amend the charter.

The charter committee spent the past two years considering possible changes to the document.

Charter committee Chairman Paul Stehr said the group wants the amendments submitted to the voters.

"The committee feels they should be on the ballot as soon as possible," Stehr said.

But Stehr, who once was mayor of Cape Girardeau, said the decision rests entirely with the council.

"They can accept them all, reject them all or pick and choose," Stehr said.

Spradling doesn't see a need for quick council action on the proposed charter changes.

He said that if there is an election on charter changes, it might be held as part of the April 1996 municipal election.

A transportation tax measure may be placed on the ballot this August. If so, Spradling doesn't want any charter amendments on the same ballot.

The charter committee proposed establishment of an ethics commission and term limits for the mayor and council posts.

As proposed, no one could serve more than two consecutive, four-year terms as mayor or as a council member.

The committee wants to reduce the residency requirement for council candidates from four years to one year.

But a mayoral candidate still would have to have been a city resident for at least four years immediately prior to his or her election.

The committee has recommended a number of amendments dealing with city finances, including one that would define a balanced budget and another that would require public disclosure of debt.

The committee also wants to prohibit the city from raising any fee or tax by more than 5 percent in any fiscal year without voter approval.

The city already has such a restriction in the form of a council-passed resolution.

The charter committee wants to establish a seven-member ethics commission. The group would investigate complaints against the mayor or councilmen, city manager, chief purchasing agent, city judge or members of city boards.

The committee would deal with allegations relating to ethical violations, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing on the part of city officials.