MORE AUTHORITY COMES WITH FIRST-CLASS STATUS

When Boone County assumed first-class county status in 1992, not much happened, Presiding Commissioner Don Stamper said.

"There were a handful of changes that put us under some different statutes," he said. Most of the changes, though, were administrative.

"There's a little additional authority in some areas," Stamper said, including planning and zoning, setting ordinances and some bookkeeping issues. "It's not anything that's earth-shattering, though."

What transitioning to first-class status really means for counties, he said, "is that they're growing, both in assessed valuation and in population."

"We have what I would describe as a very healthy growth rate," Stamper said. "Our school systems are gaining 500 kids a year. I think they'd be happier with half that. We're still struggling with the growth."

Keeping up with demands for new streets and sewers and water lines is no picnic, he said, and maintaining existing infrastructure takes a lot of work, too.

In some areas, the county "actually lost revenue," Stamper said, but it wasn't enough to worry about, and the growth in assessed valuation more than made up for the loss, he said.

Boone County's population in 1995 was more than 112,000, and its assessed valuation was $888,231,807. The county seat is Columbia.

Officials in Boone County went for the brass ring in March -- and lost -- when they asked voters to approve a county constitution, which is similar to a county charter.

"It went down almost 3 to 1," Stamper said.

Constitutions and charters give counties or cities powers not specifically prohibited by state statute or the constitution. Such things as what type of representation a community has, along with officials' terms of office, can be spelled out in charters, but in non-charter communities, those issues are set by statute.

First-class counties have a little more authority over planning and zoning than second-class counties do, said Freddie Nichols, Western District Commissioner for Cole County.

"Decision-making is just a little more complicated, but I don't think the average citizen will notice the difference," Nichols said.

And, Nichols added, commissioners in first-class counties are officially full-time officeholders.