最新杏吧原创

Proposition B has been at the center of a tense debate between councilmembers and County Executive Sam Page. Here are seven things to know about the measure.

What would the proposal do?

If passed by voters, Prop B would give the council the power to fire county department heads and the county鈥檚 top attorney.

Five of the seven council members would have to vote in favor of such move.

Only the county executive has the power to do that now.

Why is council asking for the power now?

There鈥檚 a new supermajority on the council; six of the seven councilmembers now frequently oppose Page.

And some of them have complained they can鈥檛 get enough information out of the people Page appointed to direct county departments.

Council Chair Rita Heard Days, a Democrat from Bel-Nor, said the council needs to be able to hold directors accountable and force them to the table on important legislative issues, such as budget cuts.

Page has called the proposal a 鈥減ower grab,鈥� and says it would, if passed, upset the balance in county government. The proposal would cause chaos in county services and confusion among directors, he said.

滨迟鈥檚 not the first step the council has taken to gain power.

What do Page and council members say?

County department directors, who oversee services including health, parks and roads, would fear for their jobs if the council could fire them, Page says. Department heads would answer to eight bosses, instead of just one, creating confusion and chaos, he said.

Councilmembers have rejected Page鈥檚 claims.

Councilman Mark Harder, a Republican from Ballwin, said the proposition would make directors answer to the council, and actually reduce chaos by improving communication. The council also deserves a say in how department heads conduct county business, he said at a news conference Tuesday.

鈥淲e can have better government, better government accountability and make sure that people are doing what they鈥檙e supposed to be doing on a daily basis,鈥� Harder said.

Could the council fire the police chief?

Page has said the measure would give the council the power to fire the county police chief.

Days said the proposition does not give the council that power, which rests with the police commissioners board.

The 最新杏吧原创 County Board of Police Commissioners last month unanimously passed a resolution to 鈥渘ot support鈥� Proposition B, voicing concerns about a lack of clarity in the language. Some commissioners worried future councils might disagree with the current council and flex power over the chief.

But on Thursday, the county police union said it talked to 鈥渉alf a dozen local legal experts鈥� who agreed the proposition 鈥渨ould have zero impact or effect on the 最新杏吧原创 County Police Department.鈥� The county charter states the commission is in charge of the department, the union pointed out.

鈥淲e have no position on 鈥楶roposition B鈥� because it simply does not pertain to the police department, the police chief or our members,鈥� 最新杏吧原创 County Police Association Executive Director Joe Patterson said in a statement.

Do department heads talk to the council?

Page has said his administration communicates plenty with the council. Councilmembers say there have been several instances where the administration hasn鈥檛.

Republican Councilman Dennis Hancock, of Fenton, said he has been asking for the minimum cost to fix up county headquarters in downtown Clayton. But he said the Transportation and Public Works department hasn鈥檛 given him the information. The department director, Stephanie Leon Streeter, has said she has shared everything she could.

Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from North County, said last year that Page instructed department leaders not to communicate with members of the council. A spokesman for the county executive said any lack of sharing information wasn鈥檛 deliberate.

Other councilmembers said at the time they didn鈥檛 have a problem communicating with Page鈥檚 staff.

Could the council fire a director without cause?

Page says the council could fire department heads and the county counselor without cause and inject the agendas of seven councilmembers into the decision.

Hancock said department heads are at-will employees, and can already be fired by Page with or without cause. The council would have the same power, Hancock said.

The to voters didn鈥檛 say the council needed a reason to fire a department head. It does say at least two members would need to introduce a resolution to remove a director, and that the resolution may outline a 鈥渂asis for the introduction.鈥�

Webb said this week that directors would have the chance to appear before the council to make their case. And while a hearing might happen behind closed doors, there would at least be public notices it鈥檚 happening as required by public records laws.

Page can fire his department directors without notifying the public, Webb said.

Councilmembers promised to only use the measure, if voters approve it, as a last resort. As long as a director is doing their job, they have nothing to worry about, Days said.

Will the proposition be challenged in court?

Almost certainly.

After a group of 最新杏吧原创 County directors challenged the proposal in February, county Circuit Judge Bruce F. Hilton called the proposition鈥檚 language 鈥渕isleading, insufficient, inaccurate, argumentative, prejudicial and unfair.鈥� He ordered it off the ballot.

An attorney for the County Council appealed, and an appellate panel issued an order that put the measure back on.

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Judge Thomas C. Clark II wrote in the order that the court shouldn鈥檛 prevent voters from considering the issue.

If anyone wants to challenge the measure, he wrote, they can do so if it passes.