City of Cape considering term limits for boards, commissions

Cape Girardeau City Council will consider making it easier for citizens to serve on city boards and commissions when it convenes again in September.

Many city panels limit the length of service to three consecutive full terms.

“If we limit service to one or two terms, it will open up slots for residents who haven’t had the opportunity before,” city manager Scott Meyer said.

The process

Meyer, who this week announced his retirement effective in June, said a “term limits” change would require passage of an ordinance.

“We’d like to see more (people) get involved and with more diversity in terms of race, gender, city ward and generally in their ideas,” he said.

Cape Girardeau has 22 citizen panels in all, most meeting regularly and some as the need arises. Members serve on a volunteer basis and do not receive any compensation.

“We typically have a lot of interest in the Golf Course Advisory and Parks and Recreation boards,” said Bob Fox, mayor since 2018.

“We don’t have as much participation in the Tree Board,” he said.

Attendance clause

The city has a tough policy in terms of attendance.

An appointed person to a city panel is automatically removed if three consecutive meetings are missed.

“Right now, there are no excuses to the attendance policy,” Meyer said.

“We might look to relax the requirement and offer a waiver to the ‘three-misses-and-you’re out’ policy if the city manager or mayor approve it,” he said.

Cape ‘school’

In 2019, the city started a citizen academy, a six-to-eight week course “to teach people what this city does,” Fox said.

Included are modules on the budget, on the police and fire departments and on the workings of the city’s parks and recreation department.

“The biggest area (of the academy) is public works,” said Fox, noting residents find out how trash and recyclables are handled, how waste treatment is done, what must be done to repair and maintain streets and information on all the city’s lawn-mowing obligations.

“My goal with the academy is a more educated voter,” said Fox, who indicated Wednesday his current intention is to seek reelection in 2022.

“Another goal is if you know more about how the city operates, you’ll want to serve (on a city panel),” he added.

The academy has not been held in 2020 due to COVID-19, but the goal is to schedule the learning sessions twice a year with a limit of 20 per class, Fox said.

“We need more people involved, not less,” said Fox, noting he was unchallenged when he ran for mayor in 2018.

“In fact, several (City) Council members have run without opponents,” he said.

Potential downside

Meyer, already Cape Girardeau’s longest-ever serving city manager with more than 11 years of service to-date, adds a note of caution to the talk of term limits and opening up opportunity.

“It’s great to get more folks involved,” Meyer said, “but we’ve got to have more people interested in serving (if we shorten term limits).”

The City Council will have the term limits discussion when it next meets at 5 p.m. Sept. 8, a day later than usual because of Labor Day.

“(Shortening) term limits could be a two-edged sword,” Meyer said.