Charter changes

Three amendments to Cape Girardeau's city charter are likely to be placed before voter sometime next year.

The city has had a charter since 1981, and it has been amended several times.

One of the proposed charter changes caused some confusion after recommendations from the charter-review committee were given to the council. That change, it appeared, would have allowed the city to conduct business even when fewer than four of the seven council members were present.

This week the council clarified the change so that less than a quorum of four members could conduct business only in the event that there were fewer than four members on the council due to resignations, deaths or other reasons.

And the only decision the remaining council members would be able to make would be to appoint council members to fill vacancies until the next election. Currently, vacancies are unfilled until an election is held.

The clarification makes more sense than the original recommendation, but some voters still may have concerns about the appointment process.

Under the right circumstances, for example, appointed council members who run for election would tend to have the advantage of incumbency, which might be perceived as an unfair advantage.

Some thought might be given to allowing appointments only in cases when an election is no more than just a few months off and providing for a special election to fill vacancies of more than a few months.

Another recommended charter change that may raise questions in some voters' minds is one that would allow the city to raise park and other user fees -- but not water, sewer or trash fees -- without voter approval as currently required.

Even though many of these fees would affect only a portion of the city's population, the required vote has been one of the underpinnings of the charter. The city's ability to make a case that convinces voters of the need for a fee increase is a sure indication of need.

The third proposed change, to disband the city's ethics commission, isn't likely to stir up much reaction.

The commission has handled only one complaint in its 10 years of existence.

Other methods would be provided for dealing with future complaints if voters agree to eliminate the commission.