Voters to Decide Proposed Updates to Home Rule Charter

January 12, 2023

The City of Nixa became a Home Rule Charter city in 2010. This document essentially serves as the constitution for our municipal government. On April 4, 2023, Nixa residents will either vote “yes” to accept or “no” to reject 3 proposed updates to our Home Rule Charter which have been recommended by the Home Rule Charter Review Commission. The commission, which consisted of 9 Nixa residents (3 from each council district) reviewed the entire charter over several months in 2022 and voted to recommend the updates. None of the proposed updates would impact taxation or city services.

Proposition 1:

Question: Shall Section 3.7 of the Nixa City Charter be amended as set forth in Ordinance No. 2285 to grant the City Council the power to remove elected officers from office when the officer has been charged with conduct constituting grounds of forfeiture of office?

Explanation: The proposed update to Section 3.7 is intended to clarify that City Council not only has the power to remove members of the council when they are charged with conduct constituting grounds of forfeiture of office (as defined in Section 3.6), but that the City Council also has the power to remove the Mayor, Judge, or any other elected city official if the elected official is charged with such conduct.

Proposition 2:

Question: Shall Article VI and Section 15.2 of the Nixa City Charter be amended as set forth in Ordinance No. 2285 to modify said provisions to account for changes to Missouri law regarding municipal courts by: (1) modifying Article VI to authorize the Council to establish a Municipal Court or elect to have ordinance violations heard by a circuit judge; (2) require the Council to review the decision to have a circuit judge hear ordinance violations every four years; (3) authorize the position of an elected chief municipal judge, who shall be the presiding judge of the municipal court; (4) allow for the Council to establish elected associate judges; (5) include incapacitation as grounds for vacancy in the office of municipal judge; (6) authorize the Council to appoint substitute judges to act in the absence or conflict of interest in a municipal judge; (7) provide an applicability clause for Section 6.2 of the Charter; (8) remove section 6.3 in its entirety; and (9) remove Section 15.2(d) in its entirety.

Explanation: The proposed update to Article VI and Section 15.2 is intended to align the city charter with changes to Missouri law regarding the operation of Municipal Courts and to allow the Nixa City Council the ability to potentially bring the Municipal Court back under the operation of the municipal government if/when deemed appropriate by the City Council. It would also force the City Council to reconsider this possibility at least every 4 years. The intent is also to allow the court, if returned, to have an elected chief judge and elected associate judges, for incapacitation to be added as grounds for vacancy of such offices, for Council to be able to appoint substitute judges in the case of absence or conflict of interest in a judge, and to remove outdated sections [6.2 and 15.2(d)] which may create conflict or confusion if/when a municipal court is re-established as an operation of the city.

Proposition 3:

Question: Shall section 10.3 of the Nixa City Charter be amended as set forth in Ordinance No. 2285 to modify section 10.3(a)iii to require recall petitions to receive signatures from 10% of qualified voters registered to vote in the last election for such office instead of 10% of total votes cast in the last election for such office and remove unconstitutional language in section 10.3(c) regarding the voting and residency status of circulators?

Explanation: The proposed update to Section 10.3 is intended to raise the required number of signatures required to force a recall vote of any elected official in the Nixa municipal government by changing the benchmark number from 10% of total votes cast in the last election prior to the petition to recall, to 10% of qualified voters registered to vote in the last election prior to the petition to recall. The intent of the Commissioners was to increase the threshold of signatures required to ensure that any recall effort to remove an elected official has at least 10% community support before forcing the city to hold a recall election. This would become consistent with the existing requirements for the number of signatures required by the charter for a referendum petition. However, the Commissioners did not want to raise the threshold to the same levels found in other surrounding communities which are as high as 25% of qualified voters. Some language would also be removed from section 10.3(c) of the charter as the current language limiting who may circulate petitions is no longer valid under court precedent.

PAID FOR BY:

City of Nixa

Jimmy Liles, City Administrator

715 W. Mt. Vernon St.

Nixa, MO 65714

417-725-3785 | CityHall@Nixa.com

Ordinance #2285 (Council Bill 2022-111)