ETHICS PANEL MEMBER REMOVED

Before it has even held its first meeting, the Cape Girardeau Ethics Commission has lost a member.

The City Council took William J. Donnelly off the commission Monday after it learned that he worked as a paddlewheeler for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and made $143 greeting boats, guiding tourists and registering participants in conferences and races.

The city code prohibits anyone who has worked for the city within a year of his appointment from serving on the commission. Donnelly said he didn't think his work as a paddlewheeler qualified him as a city employee, but he listed that income on his financial disclosure form.

"I think we have to stick with our regulations," said Mayor Al Spradling III.

Donnelly said he was a reluctant member anyway, and that he only applied because he wanted the city to have an ethics commission. Donnelly said he read in the newspaper that no one else had applied.

He said he has no hard feelings.

"After all, a rule's a rule," said Donnelly