GOVERNMENT: SIKESTON MULLS CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston City Council has not decided if it will become a home rule city but will research the matter further.

If the council approves the home rule idea, it would be put on the April ballot for voters to decide.

Changing the class of Sikeston's city government was discussed at this week's informational meeting on the home rule charter form of government.

The Sikeston City Council sponsored the meeting on the Constitutional Charter.

Gary Markenson, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League, discussed what a home rule charter government is and how Sikeston could make the change.

Councilman Bill Mitchell said the meeting had nothing to do with a petition, circulated around the city, to have council members elected by wards.

"We are talking about broadening our overall government," Mitchell said.

The state has five classes of municipal government: Village, Class 4, Class 3, Constitution or home rule charter and legislative charter. Specific powers are associated with each classification, and since 1961 Sikeston has been a Class 3 city, operating under the council-manager form of government.

As a Class 3 city, five council members are elected at large for two-year terms. The council members elect a mayor and mayor pro-tem. State law also establishes the powers of the city and its officials.

"Only a charter form of government can guarantee your structure of government from the legislature," Markenson said.

Advantage of home rule

An advantage of home rule government is that it would allow residents, through the creation of their municipal charter, to establish the number of council members, their terms of office and how their council members are elected -- by ward, at-large or a combination. It would also establish the powers and responsibilities of the various city boards and commissions.

Home rule government would also offer greater flexibility for the changing needs of the community.

Markenson said the state has 36 home rule communities, with Cape Girardeau being the only one in the area.

If Sikeston wanted to reorganize under a home rule charter, the question would be placed before voters.

At the time of the ballot, a 13-member commission would be elected to draft a "charter" to establish the powers of the city. Within a year of selecting the commission, the "charter" would be placed before voters for approval.

"This is not an easy process," Markenson said. "These folks who make up the commission are going to have to dedicate themselves for a substantial amount of time for a year."

To get their name on a ballot, a potential commission candidate, who must be a registered voter in Sikeston, must have a petition signed by at least 2 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last election.

A question of having council members elected through wards was raised during the meeting, and Markenson said it would be quite some time before that would be possible.