ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Five months before St. Louis voters could reshape the city's founding documents, the Charter Commission is rolling out a list of proposed amendments that could appear on the upcoming November ballot.
The seven proposals could still see some revisions when the Board of Aldermen meets in August under a special session to review and potentially alter them. They include major changes to the current power structures in St. Louis city government, and some other updates to outdated language from a 110-year-old document.
The first proposed amendment would abolish the three-member Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) and remove the Comptroller from the citywide ballot. The position would move underneath the umbrella of the mayor's appointees.
The mayor's office would also take on more of an executive role with expanded authority to hire and fire key law enforcement and administrative positions in city government.
"I would not support making those changes without making sure that the Board of Aldermen has input on that process," 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said.
However, the mayor would relinquish some control over the city budget process. The Board of Aldermen could be renamed the City Council and would take on expanded roles in proposing and authorizing spending cuts or increases.
"I think it creates a stronger legislative branch," 3rd Ward Alderman Shane Cohn said. "E&A probably doesn't need to exist anymore."
Another amendment would reschedule the city's election calendar to align with Missouri's August primary and November general elections. Those changes would start to phase in over a period of time and would not impact the upcoming 2025 mayor's race.
Each amendment would need to garner support from at least 60% of city voters in November in order to pass.
At a public event on Tuesday morning, Mayor Tishaura Jones declined to answer questions about the new proposed recommendations.
Below is the list of proposed amendments to the city charter in their current draft form:
• E&A “Heavy” Reform: Abolish the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, eliminate the Office of Comptroller as an elected office and reassign the Comptroller’s responsibilities to a newly created Director of Finance under Mayoral authority, alter the City’s budget process empowering the Board of Aldermen to increase the budget, and newly create an Office of Public Advocate lead by an elected Public Advocate.
• Standalone Public Advocate: Newly create an Office of Public Advocate led by an elected Public Advocate – even if E&A “Heavy” Reform does not advance – that responds to complaints regarding city services and is supported by a legal department with subpoena power that is separate and independent from the City Counselor’s Office.
• Standalone Board of Aldermen Enhanced Budget Authority: Empower the Council with authority to increase budgetary amounts even if E&A “Heavy” Reform does not advance.
• Department of Transportation: Newly create a Department of Transportation.
• Mayoral Appointments: Newly allow the Mayor to directly appoint the Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Personnel Director as well as identify other Mayoral appointments of department heads in Article VIII.
• Revamp City Voting: Change the timing of general municipal elections from April to November of even years and primaries to August, increase the notice requirements, expand permitted publications of election notices, lower the threshold for signatures on initiatives petitions, newly require approval voting for all County offices except the Circuit Attorney, and rename the “Board of Aldermen” to the “City Council."
• Modernize Charter Language: Make specific, global changes to Charter language to convert pronouns to titles of offices, update methods of advertisement, remove obsolete language, reflect modern titles of offices and officers, and provide for compensation to be set by ordinance.