CHARTER PANEL URGES ETHICS COMMISSION

Cape Girardeau city councils in the past have found it difficult to address conflict-of-interest allegations regarding their own members.

That is at the heart of a recommendation to amend the city charter to establish a seven-member ethics commission, former councilman David Barklage told the City Council Monday night.

Barklage said conflict-of-interest allegations surfaced when he was on the council. "We had some conflicts on the council, and it was impossible to deal with it," he said.

Barklage and seven other members of the Charter Review Committee met with the council at City Hall to discuss 10 charter amendments that the committee has proposed. The committee made the recommendations after two years of study.

Six of the 10 proposed amendments were unanimously approved by the committee, including creation of an ethics commission. Voter approval is required to amend the city charter.

Mayor Al Spradling III said the council will consider the recommendations at its annual retreat in April.

Charter Review Committee member Keith Russell said a number of other charter-government cities have ethics commissions.

Committee member Peter Bergerson said there needs to be a mechanism in place to deal with potential ethical complaints.

The ethics commission would have the power to investigate complaints made against the mayor, council members, the city manager, chief purchasing officer, city judge and advisory board members.

Spradling questioned the need to include the municipal judge since there is already a state commission that deals with discipline of judges.

Spradling and City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said the city doesn't have a chief purchasing officer. But charter committee members said the intent was to allow the ethics commission to investigate complaints related to city court and city purchases.

Barklage said those areas potentially offer the greatest chance for abuse of power.

Several council members expressed concern about a recommendation to prohibit the city from licensing any trade or profession for the purpose of regulating them.

Spradling said it would make it impossible to regulate any business and scrap the council's plan to regulate adult businesses.

Charter committee members said the charter amendment is aimed primarily at eliminating regulation of construction trades. The recommendation was narrowly approved by the charter committee.