ELECTRICIANS URGE CITY TO ADOPT NEW TESTING FOR LICENSES

Electricians would have to pass a test to be licensed to perform work in the city of Cape Girardeau under a measure supporters say is grounded in safety.

Cape Girardeau currently issues licenses for electricians, but no testing is required.

The City Council, which has wrestled with the issue since last July, will consider a slightly revised measure next month that would establish five different electrical licenses. Different tests would be given depending on the license being sought.

About 20 people, mostly electricians, attended a council study session Thursday night at City Hall.

The electricians urged the council to scrap the current licensing system and approve one that ties licenses to testing. The city staff and the city's Board of Examiners also back the move.

So does Mayor Al Spradling III and several councilmen.

"We have talked about this thing a long time and beat it to death," said Spradling.

"It's not money; it's not people's jobs; it's safety," said Steve Chapman of Shawnee Electrical Contractors.

Robin Tolbert, an electrical engineer with K&K Electric, recalled the case of a 9-year-old boy in the Kennett area who was electrocuted in his swimming pool because of faulty electrical work.

The electricians and other supporters of licensing tests said there are many shoddy electricians, who typically do electrical work part time and put the consumer in danger.

"If you can save one life, it is well worth it," said Roy Halbert of the Board of Examiners.

Both council members and professional electricians said the current licensing system gives a false sense of security to the consumers and is nothing more than a registration system.

Currently, anyone can obtain an electrician's license from the city regardless of whether he or she knows anything about electricity.

As part of the new licensing, electricians would have to carry liability insurance.

Apartment owner and developer Frank Bean expressed concern that some of the proposed regulations would make it hard for landlords to perform simple maintenance without hiring a licensed electrician.

That view is shared by Councilman Jack Rickard, who owns apartments.

But City Manager Michael Miller said the licensing regulations deal only with work that requires construction permits.

Those who are currently working as electricians would have up to five years to pass the test.

Twenty-three of 25 Missouri cities with populations of 20,000 or more include a written test as part of their licensing of electricians, Miller said.

Cape Girardeau currently requires plumbers, mechanical installers or gas fitters, and drain layers to pass tests to be licensed.

Cape Girardeau has tested plumbers since the 1950s.