DEADLINE FOR ETHICS PANEL IS EXTENDED

Serving on Cape Girardeau's yet-to-be-formed city ethics commission isn't very popular, judging from the lack of applications from prospective members.

So far, four individuals have expressed an interest in the commission, which was approved by city voters last April in a change to the city charter. The voters approved a seven-member commission with broad powers to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by city officials. The charter requires that commission members have no political involvement and no ties to city government.

An earlier deadline of March 1 for receiving applications has been extended. At its meeting this week, the City Council set a new deadline of April 15.

While a majority of voters felt the ethics oversight was a good idea, it appears that interest in serving is low. This lack of interest may also reflect the reality that an ethics panel would have the opportunity to cause more problems for city officials than it might resolve. Few Cape Girardeans would likely want to be have such a role.