Proposed city charter changes to appear on November ballot

by Laura Bednar

Aug. 11 city council meeting

Voters will see four proposed amendments to Independence’s city charter on the ballot this November.

Independence City Council unanimously voted in favor of moving forward the amendments, which were proposed by the charter review commission. The commission meets every four years and, according to the city charter, consists “of 11 qualified electors. Each member of council and the finance director shall each appoint one member, and the mayor shall appoint three members, one of whom shall be a councilperson.”

The amendment to Article IV, sections 2(A) and 2(B) of the charter would change the finance director position from an elected office to an appointment by the mayor, subject to council approval. The director would have no term limits, serving until he or she resigns, dies or is removed by council. The position would also require a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of experience in government accounting or public finance.

Amendment to Article IV, section 5(A) of the charter recommends the majority of council appoint three citizen members to the planning commission instead of the mayor.

Amendment to Article IV, section 5(C) of the charter recommends that city council not pass zoning ordinances, regulations or amendments as emergency legislation. Emergency legislation takes effect immediately and is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety,” according to the city charter.

The final proposed amendment is to Article III, section 3 of the charter, which recommends the mayor not preside over any meetings of council, but just attend.

Police

The community is invited to the Independence Police Department’s PACE (Police and Community Engagement) meeting on Sept. 3, at 7 p.m., in the Civic Center. Police will discuss a recent $320,000 grant the department received for vehicle upgrades and modernization, which may be used in part to purchase a Tesla Cybertruck for the department.

In other news

Council approved the appointment of Santo Incorvaia as the city’s prosecutor and Raemarie Rini as the city’s assistant prosecutor for $45,000 and $35,000, respectively. Current city prosecutor Bud Doyle is retiring and recommended the new prosecutors, according to Mayor Greg Kurtz. Both are Independence residents.

Vice Mayor Anthony Togliatti said the city previously just had one prosecutor and asked why there was a need for an assistant. Kurtz said Incorvaia recommended an assistant to split up responsibilities as needed.