League of Women Voters offers county charter program

The Cape Girardeau County charter exploration that started nearly two years ago continues.

The League of Women Voters of Southeast Missouri has been making brief presentations to area groups on the issue and hopes to do more.

"People seem really excited about the idea," said Sue Brockett, the league's president. "The fears seem to be more about planning and zoning, but in fact with a charter you write your own [rules]."

League members researched county charter issues last year after a request from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. The group produced a brief report and a list of frequently asked questions. The league researched and helped plan Cape Girardeau's charter, which was approved in 1981.

League members have spoken at a chamber event, to a Rotary Club and a Leadership Cape class.

Tracey Glenn, the chamber's vice president for organization and leadership development, said the July Leadership Cape program was "the first time we've asked the league to do anything beyond the frequently asked questions."

Four of Missouri's 17 first-class counties adopted charters: St. Louis, in 1950, Jackson, in 1970, St. Charles in 1992 and Jefferson in 2008. Charter bids have failed in five counties: Boone, Buchanan, Clay, Greene and Franklin.

Creating a charter requires a two-step vote. First, voters must decide whether they want to write a charter. That question can be put on the ballot by the county commission, or residents can petition for it. If voters approve, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats are appointed to a board and given one year to write the charter.

"It is really self-government. It really is democracy, since it's going to be written by the people and voted [on] by the people. If they don't like it, they vote it down," said Brockett, who emphasized that the league is not promoting the concept.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan group dedicated to educating voters on candidates and issues.

David Stokes, policy analyst for the Show-Me Institute, said recent charter campaigns in Jefferson and Franklin counties had opposite results, with the winning answer garnering close to 70 percent of the votes in each case.

Jefferson County voters approved a charter that limits tax increases to those approved by voters, restricts eminent domain and requires a balanced budget, while Franklin County voters in April voted against a similar charter.

Cape Girardeau is "a big enough county that [a charter] deserves examining," Stokes said, explaining that a charter is essentially a county-level constitution that can tailor the government's structure to the county's needs.

Jackson and St. Louis county charters eliminated most elected officials, he said, while many elected offices were retained in St. Charles and Jefferson counties' charters.

Because about half of this county's residents live in Jackson or Cape Girardeau, he said, a county charter may not have a great effect on those residents' day-to-day lives.

"The people of unincorporated areas of the county might have a pretty passionate feeling," he said, in part because charters often address planning and zoning, a hot-button issue for many living in Cape Girardeau's unincorporated areas.

Long before such details can be addressed, the charter question would have to be put on a ballot. That won't happen until a group takes it on as a cause, Brockett said. The league does not take positions other than to present issues for consideration.

Stokes said anyone who wants to move the issue forward should approach it slowly and thoroughly.

"It should be a process. It should not be rushed. The whole process is an important decision," he said.

The League of Women Voters' second fall program will be devoted to the pros and cons of county charters. Two members of the recent Leadership Cape class said they learned a lot from the league's recent presentation but would like to know more.

Ross McFerron, a Cape Girardeau lawyer and Leadership Cape participant, said a county charter at first glance "seems like a good idea. I think it's something the county should look at more closely. But I don't think we should change the entire organization of county government because there has been a controversy between two or three people."

Friction on the county commission has been widely publicized. It concerns topics ranging from open meeting laws to secretly recorded conversations to communication procedures.

"I think there's a good case to be made for going to charter, where it could be set up where it could save taxpayers' money," McFerron said. He said the three-commissioner system works fine for a smaller county, such as Bollinger, where he grew up, but with Cape Girardeau much larger and growing, "I think that having a county board of people who aren't paid or are paid a whole lot less than the commissioners, you could have a whole lot more representation of the county and could hire an executive to deal with the day-to-day things. The board members could have real jobs -- busy people seem not to argue as much."

Maryann "Miki" Gudermuth, executive director of SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, was another Leadership Cape member present during the league's charter program. She didn't come away with strong feelings on either side of the charter issue.

"I'm for more accountability," she said. "If a charter form of government would provide more accountability, then I don't have a big problem with it."

She said she "would probably go to a public hearing and hear what other people's feelings are on it."

Gudermuth said she would like to see more transparency in the county's processes.

"There's a lot that goes on, and if you're not aware of when these meetings are, how are you going to be able to comment on decisions being made that affect everybody?"

She said she was particularly unhappy with trying to track down dates and times for county advisory board meetings.

In addition to offering the presentation to area groups, the League of Women Voters will devote one of its fall programs to the charter issue. After a discussion on mental health and aging at 7 p.m. Sept. 15, the league's charter presentation will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 20. Both events will be at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, 711 Clark Ave. in Cape Girardeau.

Pertinent addresses:

711 Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO

1267 Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO