City Charter Amendments

On June 2, voters approved four proposed changes relating to the composition of council, attendance at meetings, capital and operating budget submission, and declaration of a winner in the primary election. These changes to the City Charter were proposed to City Council by the 2019 Charter Review Committee. The committee was established by the council to conduct a comprehensive review of the City Charter with the limitation that the committee shall maintain the Council-Manager form of government currently adopted. Below are the four proposed changes as they appeared on the ballot. 

Proposition 1

Shall subsection (a) and subsection (d) of Section 3.2 and Section 10.5 and 18.1 of the Constitutional Charter of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, be amended to require the nomination and election of a Mayor and four (4) Councilmembers at large and one (1) Councilmember from each of four (4) Council districts, beginning when the municipal general election is held in 2022, and require the mayor to appoint the fifth Museum Oversight Board member as set forth in Section 2 of Special Ordinance Number 9674?

Proposition 2

Shall subsection (b) of Section 3.6 of the Constitutional Charter of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, be amended to subject members of the City Council to forfeiture of office upon being absent from more than six regular meetings during any calendar year unless continuation in office is approved by six of nine Councilmembers, as set fourth in Section 4 of Special Ordinance Number 9674?

Proposition 3

Shall Section 6.5 and Section 6.6 of the Constitutional Charter of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, be amended to require submission and Council approval of a Capital Program at the same time an operating budget is submitted and approved, as set forth in Section 6 of Special Ordinance Number 9674?

Proposition 4

Shall Section 10.4 of the Constitutional Charter of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, be amended to declare a candidate elected if the candidate receives a vote from a majority of the voters casting votes in that primary election, as set fourth in Section 8 of Special Ordinance Number 9674?  

2019 Charter Review Committee

Ken Beck, Donna Jean Boyer, Brett Carolus, Jeanne Daffron, Derek Evans, Michael Grimm, Rick Hope, Jason Horn, Kevin Kelly, Joseph Marmaud, Byron Myers Sr., John Reese, John Spencer and Frank Still