Home Rule passage: Finishing Robb’s Work for Boone County
Boone County Presiding Commissioner Ed Robb was an honorable gentleman who passed away less than a year after taking office and just when he was settling in on a challenge Boone County needs to accomplish. Let’s discard partisan bickering and honor the late Robb and his fellow commissioners by setting in motion another run at writing and approving a home rule charter for Boone County.
I knew Robb only casually. He was a guest a couple of times on KFRU’s Sunday Morning Roundtable, and during his last appearance a few months ago, Robb talk- ed freely about making another try at landing this elusive quarry. He spoke of a minimally invasive document that would retain all of the existing elected office positions. Once approved, Boone County would no longer have to run to the state legislature and beg “Mother Missouri” for even the slightest of favors.
Oddity of Law
Like many of us, Robb was perplexed by an oddment of Missouri constitutional law. Unless a county draws up a home rule governance charter that’s been approved by a majority of its voters, the affairs of that county are largely determined by what the state legislature will or will not allow.
Many of Missouri’s least populated counties will never be in a position to adopt or require home rule. On the other hand, Boone County’s status as a metropolitan area, with its steady population increase and the modernization of its governance process, makes it a candidate for self-determination and reduced legislative dependency.
Newfound Support
After two previous home rule charter efforts went down in flames, Robb had the support of his fellow commissioners to begin setting the table for another attempt at landing a home rule charter for Boone County.
It’s a lengthy process initiated by the existing three- person commission, and what follows is oversimplified: a charter writing commission is established, and then, after many months of hearings with extensive public participation, A charter is drafted that is then presented to county voters for approval.
Keep it Simple
Taking the cue from two previous defeats, the commissioners were already channeled toward a relatively simple document. It would retain election by popular vote of key county officials including the sheriff, assessor and clerk, one of the most popular features of the existing arrangement. Given the county’s increased population and complexity of obligations to its residents, there has been talk of enlarging the commission from three members to five, which shouldn’t be very discomfiting.
Boone County would continue to be governed and managed as it has been all along. Backed by a minimally invasive charter for constitutional guidance, the Boone County Commission and its backbone of elected officials would remain as responsive to citizen needs as they are today.
What would disappear is the present constitutionally mandated dependence on “Mother Missouri.” You can bet the state legislature would be just as relieved as the county itself if they weren’t so intertwined in dealing with the minutiae of governance. Let’s continue what Robb and his fellow commissioners set out to do and get a home rule charter for Boone County.