Engaging more volunteers desired for Cape Girardeau city government

The City of Cape Girardeau has 19 volunteer citizen advisory boards and commissions that meet with some regularity — on a wide variety of areas ranging from historic preservation to planning and zoning, from municipal airport operations to the proper care of trees in city parks and along streets.

Earlier this week, longtime city Clerk Gayle Conrad gave a detailed presentation to Mayor Bob Fox and the City Council on how volunteers are appointed and how long they are permitted to serve.

The City Council is considering making it easier for residents to serve on city boards and commissions by reducing the maximum number of terms a person may serve in a row.

It comes down to a basic question — if more opportunities to be on city boards are created, will enough people apply to fill the openings?

In 2000, a resident was permitted to serve for two consecutive full terms before rotating off a panel and, in the same year, the city also restricted a person from serving on multiple boards and commissions at the same time.

In 2004, the city extended the maximum length to three consecutive terms, which remains to this day.

“I recollect (that) the number of applications (to serve) had decreased,” Conrad said.

“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 in August.

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

Municipalities benefit with more input

The National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government (NAVPLG) is bullish about bringing more people into the process of helping to run their own communities.

“Volunteers will teach the municipality things staff never would have thought,” said Kay Sibetta, NAVPLG president.

“Government(s) offer countless opportunities for volunteers to be involved,” she said, but added a cautionary note.

“Keeping volunteers involved is key — with continuous input sought, not just in a one-time event,” Sibetta said.

Citizen Academy to resume

Fox, Cape Girardeau’s mayor since 2018, has championed a six-to-eight week “academy” for residents to teach the “nuts-and-bolts” of city government, but new sessions have been on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t think we can wait for COVID to dictate our schedule,” said Meyer, who added a new academy will be slated in 2021.

“If we need to do it, we’ll conduct a virtual academy with Zoom sessions and the like,” said Meyer, who intends to retire next year.

Fox said the academy may help produce a better educated city resident who may decide in the future to apply to join one of the city’s advisory panel.

Accountability

The city has a clear policy for attendance.

If an appointed resident on a panel misses three meetings in a row or four in a rolling 12-month period, the person is automatically removed from the panel’s membership.

“Before the attendance requirement, we had issues with getting enough people to a meeting to have a quorum,” Conrad said.

“You have no quorum and no business can be conducted,” she added.

Perks

Appointed members of advisory panels are provided with a card that gives admittance to the municipal pool, Cape Splash, Osage Centre, Jaycees’ Municipal Golf Course, Shawnee Park Center and the Shawnee Park Sports Complex.

Diversity also a goal

“It’s not just a question of getting more people involved,” Meyer said in August, “but more diversity, too,” noting a desire to see an enlarged variety of community input in terms of race, gender, city ward and ideas.

Anyone with interest in serving may apply online at www.cityofcape.org/yourgov.

Next step

Any change in term limits for volunteer advisory panels will require an ordinance.

None has currently been proposed, Meyer said.