There will be no municipal elections in August in Jefferson City.
By a 5-4 vote, the City Council decided against putting a stormwater utility fee proposal up for a public vote.
Council members David Kemna, Rick Prather, Rick Mihalevich, Ron Fitzwater and Mark Schreiber voted against putting the measure on the ballot while councilmen Laura Ward, Erin Wiseman, Ken Hussey and Carlos Graham voted for the measure. Councilman Larry Henry, sponsor of the bill, was not at Monday's council meeting.
The fee would have been charged on each parcel of developed property from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2042. For a single-family parcel or single-family duplex parcel, the rate would have been $3.50 per month. Rates would have increased by 2 percent annually Jan. 1.
Among the reasons given for voting against the measure was concern the tax proposal would be too soon after the April approval of a new high school.
"I agree there is a need, and we have old structures that need to be replaced, but when you look at the potential costs for those with large parcels, such as businesses and churches, I don't think they realize how much that cost is going to be to them," Fitzwater said.
That was brought out for some council members during a presentation before the vote by Public Works Director Matt Morasch. As an example of what a business could pay, he showed the property where the Casey's General Store is located on Eastland Drive. For that area, Morasch said, the estimates where $41.72 a month.
"That's the first I've seen that quantified for what it would cost a business," Prather said.
The measure was put together in the hope it would help address the stormwater problem the city has been dealing with for decades.
A decade ago, a committee worked to develop a master plan but could not reach a consensus due mainly to the cost of the repairs.
However, stormwater problems resurfaced after more than 30 homes and buildings in Jefferson City were damaged by flash flooding in August and September.
Currently, the only funding for stormwater infrastructure comes from a portion of the city's capital improvement sales tax. Morasch said the funding from the sales tax provides only $360,000 a year, but the city needs about $2 million annually for replacements and renovations to pipes and inlets.
"I think it is time for us to be proactive on this," Hussey said. "There have been many presentations that were open to the public at the Public Works Committee, and every ward has been affected by this. The first call I got as a councilman was about a stormwater issue."
"In the 4th Ward, we've been hit hard by this," Graham said. "I've had numerous meetings with people on Satinwood Drive, West Edgewood Drive, Jason Court and other areas where they've been in tears telling me how they've been affected. If we don't do anything now, I'm going to ask that somewhere in the next city budget, we look at how we can get $2 million to address these problems. We've got people pleading for us to do something."
"None of us want higher taxes, but I don't think there would be harm if we had a short delay on this," Schreiber said. "I think all of us need to be doing a better job of letting people know there is a problem and here's why we need more money. I have concerns the not-for-profit groups don't know how they'd be impacted."
Hussey has sponsored four bills seeking a vote on potential changes to the city charter. In light of the stormwater issue defeat, the council agreed to his motion to have those issues placed on the informal calendar.
One change called for eliminating the firemen's pension board because they are no longer necessary. Administration of the Firefighter's Pension Plan has been transferred to Missouri LAGERS.
Another change would have altered the term limits for City Council members from an absolute eight-year limitation to a limit of four consecutive terms, with a requirement for a 23-month "cooling off" period before serving on the council again.
A third change would change residency requirements for the city clerk.
The fourth change would have made the city prosecutor an appointed position, and this was the only change that had public opposition.
Former city prosecutors Dan Green and Chris Graham spoke against the measure, saying it was a mistake because having an elected prosecutor gave legitimacy to the judicial process.
"They need to be responsible to the citizens of Jefferson City," Graham said.
"Making it an appointed position opens up the possibilities for mischief."
Although there will be no election in August, there was talk among the council about the potential to bring some of these matters back possibly for the April 2018 municipal election.