CITY CHARTER CONTINUES TO SERVE COMMUNITY WELL

The city charter, like the constitution of this nation or state, is meant to define the broad concepts by which Cape Girardeau will be governed. Also like the constitutions, it is meant to be a living, breathing document, one that performs the delicate function of holding firm to certain principles while yielding when the times require it. A committee is in place now to review the charter and the group plans to hold a pair of meetings in coming weeks to get the public's opinion on its work. While we balk at the idea of wholesale changes in the charter, we welcome the periodic evaluation of this central instrument in our local government.

It was through a state constitutional change, approved by voters in October 1971, that Missouri cities were permitted a greater level of home rule. It was a decade later, prompted by activism of the local League of Women Voters and others, that the city of Cape Girardeau took steps to enact a charter. In April 1981, voters elected a 13-member commission to draft the document. In November of that year, the commission submitted to the voters its work. The voters approved.

In a statement prefacing the charter, the commission said the document "need not include all the details necessary for the day-to-day operation of the city, but should provide the basic framework within which such procedures and functions should be developed by the elected representatives of the people." The statement went on to say the charter should be flexible enough to deal with problems, yet hold adequate safeguards to protect citizens against abuses of power. These ideas provide a solid foundation for building and maintaining a home-rule government.

In our mind, the charter is a well-crafted document, one that continues to serve the city well. The only overhaul seen in the text since its adoption is the institution of ward representation, approved by voters in 1992 and enacted with the seating of the first ward councilmen this month. While our view had been this revision was unneeded, we believe citizens here spoke to the issue and their will is being carried forward with the new council arrangement.

Since April of last year, the Charter Review Committee has been in place and studying issues that might lend themselves to alteration of the document. Included on the 12-member committee are two members of the original charter commission, four former city council members and a cross-section of other citizens who should give the group a good combination of invention balanced by historical perspective. Items evaluated by the committee range from ethics to fiscal controls to term limits. Nothing has been decided in terms of recommendations to the council, and that is where the public meetings come in. The first will be at City Hall Monday beginning at 7 p.m., and the second will be May 10 at 7 p.m. at the public library. Public input would be welcome by the committee.

When a committee is formed, it is sometimes implied that the body must justify its existence by recommending some action, whether necessary or not. That can not be the case with the Charter Review Committee, which in our mind might perform a perfectly civic-minded duty by advocating no major changes in the charter. When the charter was created by a commission and accepted by the residents of Cape Girardeau, it was meant to be durable. The charter can be refined to create a better system of government, but change should be compelling and not made for political expediency. We look forward to hearing the discussions as they develop and urge the public to take part.