Commission uninterested in trying new agenda

A proposal to force the Cape Girardeau County Commission to adhere to a more specific agenda went nowhere Thursday after commissioners Joe Gambill and Larry Bock said they want the commission's informal approach to meetings to continue.

The proposal was introduced by Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones on Monday. It was intended to make the meetings more public-friendly and to restrict the commission from voting on items not listed on the agenda unless the issue is time-sensitive.

The policy would have allowed impromptu discussion on nonagenda items. Under Jones' proposal, those nonagenda discussion items then would have been placed on the agenda for possible action at the next meeting.

Jones' proposed policy also called for every decision to be made by a vote. No vote was taken on his proposed policy.

"Well, it was our usual deal," Jones said after the meeting. "We ended up deciding, but not voting. Larry and Joe weren't interested in a formal agenda, and it doesn't look like we're going to vote on it."

Missouri's open meetings law requires that all "public governmental bodies shall give notice of the time, date and place of each meeting, and its tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to apprise the public of that information."

One of the problems is that the commission, unlike other forms of government, holds both administrative and legislative power. The commissioners vote like councilmen but they also manage the county, authorizing every purchase of $150 or more. The management aspect of the job makes it difficult to have specific agendas because department heads often approach the commission about day-to-day business needs during its meetings from 9 a.m. till noon on Mondays and Thursdays.

Important votes

Most of the commission's nonagenda votes are routine business. But some important votes -- such as a decision to fight the city of Jackson on the road and bridge tax litigation controversy and a decision to hire a lobbyist for the purposes of charging higher tax-collecting fees to school districts -- have been made without being posted on the agenda.

Bock, Gambill and County Clerk Rodney Miller, who attends the commission meetings but has no voting power, are all opposed to having a formal agenda structure.

Miller said the county is "within the statutes as much as any county in the state." He said the commission meetings are open to the public and the public has the right to attend the meetings and ask for any voting records.

He added that a formal agenda would force the commission to make a motion every time it wanted to deviate from the agenda and said the formality could create more trouble than it is worth.

Gambill agreed.

"Ninety-nine point-nine percent of what we do is routine business," Gambill said. "Why should we change what we do for that point-one percent of the time when something controversial comes up?"

Jones, also the publisher of Jackson's weekly newspaper, the Cash-Book Journal, said his intention was to make the meetings more accessible to the public. By having all voting actions on the agenda, the public would know what issues were to be decided that day.

The agendas are put together and posted by administrative assistant Donna Burk, who faxes them to media outlets. Burk puts the items on the agenda as they come into the office. Jones said the commission members, himself included, have not been good about notifying Burk of topics to place on the agenda.

Even though Gambill and Bock are not in favor of a formal agenda, Jones said he still intends to make an attempt to make the agendas more specific.

On Thursday, Burk offered to restructure the agendas much like Jones had already requested. The new agendas will have items listed as discussion topics and action items.

But the commission still will be able to introduce issues and vote on them the same day unless they are formal ordinances that become law. Ordinances are specifically required by law to be put on the agenda 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635

COMMISSION ACTION

The Cape Girardeau County Commission took the following action at its regular meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004:

Approved a 911 board request to send one person to a Crisis Communication Conference in February; two people to a Missouri National Emergency Number Association Conference in March; and three to State Emergency Management Agency training in April.

Approved a bid for a $438 computer monitor from Innovative Idea for the Cape Girardeau Public Safety Answering Point.

Approved issuance of a check to David McElwrath for a surplus amount collected by the county in a tax sale.