CURRENT NEWSLETTER

No. 270

April/May 2008

LEGISLATURE WILL ADJOURN ON MAY 16 … Between now and the May 16 adjournment, the Missouri General Assembly will consider a number of bills of municipal interest including: immigration, liability for delinquent water and sewer bills, and other issues. Please stay alert to e-mailed legislative alerts and updates. If you are not on our e-mail legislative alert system, please send your e-mail address to info@mocities.com.

MUNICIPALITIES PREVAIL ON EMINENT DOMAIN … In March, the Missouri Supreme Court, in City of Arnold v. Tourkakis, ruled that all Missouri municipalities, not just home rule cities, may use existing eminent domain statutes to redevelop blighted areas. The ruling simply ratified the practices of the last 50 years, but opponents of eminent domain will misinterpret this decision to stir emotional support for their proposed constitutional amendments to prohibit cities from using eminent domain to redevelop blighted areas (these amendments are likely to be voted on in November). In reality, Missouri municipalities only use eminent domain as a last resort when a few property owners seek to hold up the redevelopment of a blighted area that is supported by all the other property owners. The MML filed a friend of the court brief in support of the city of Arnold.

LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP DINNER MEETINGS … The MML will be conducting a series of Legislative Wrap-Up dinner meetings. The meetings will be held in Columbia (May 21), Independence (May 22), Edina (May 22), Rock Port (May 28), Osage Beach (May 29), Monett (June 4), and Dexter (June 5). At the meetings, League staff will provide a summary of the events in this year’s General Assembly and explain how the new laws will affect your municipality. This is a great opportunity to meet with your League staff and have questions answered on a face-to-face basis. Your city clerk will receive registration information in the near future.

SALES TAX HOLIDAY OPT OUT DEADLINE … If your city decides to opt out of the August sales tax holiday, you must send a copy of your ordinance to the Missouri Dept. of Revenue by June 18. If you opted out in past years you do not need to take further action. You may find a model ordinance on the MML Web site or by contacting League headquarters. At the present time, 175 municipalities and 52 counties have decided to opt out of the holiday.

ELECTED OFFICIALS TRAINING CONFERENCE … For years the MML has conducted a Conference for Newly Elected Officials. This year the Conference has been renamed the Elected Officials Training Conference. This name change is intended to emphasize the fact that the training provided at this Conference should be of interest and use to all municipal officials, not just the newly elected. While the Conference will continue to focus on providing the knowledge base all elected municipal leaders need to govern effectively, the changes that continually occur in the municipal arena make this a Conference that all officials should consider attending. The Conference will be held at the Jefferson City Capitol Plaza Hotel, June 12-13. Registration and agenda information are included with this Newsletter and will appear in the April issue of The Missouri Municipal Review, and on the League’s Web site.

EOT CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP … The MML Board of Directors has authorized up to four Elected Officials Training Conference (EOT) scholarships this year. Scholarships are awarded to an elected or appointed official of a municipality that has not sent a delegate to an EOT Conference within the last four years. The scholarship will pay for the Conference registration fee and hotel accommodations, single rate, for the evening of June 12. To be considered for one of the four scholarships, the governing body of an eligible municipality should nominate an elected or appointed official to receive the scholarship. All nominations must be in writing and received by May 16 at League headquarters, 1727 Southridge Dr., Jefferson City, MO 65109.

PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS DUE … Officials in municipalities with an annual operating budget over $1 million are required to file a personal financial disclosure statement between January 1 and May 1, 2008 with both the Missouri Ethics Commission (PO Box 1370, Jefferson City, MO 65102) and with the city clerk. Most affected municipalities have adopted an ordinance specifying which officials must file reports. These statements are public records and may be viewed by the public. If you have any questions or need copies of the forms, please contact the Commission at 800-293-8660.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2008 INNOVATION AWARDS … Share your successes with other municipalities! Nominations are being accepted for this year’s Innovation Awards program. The Awards spotlight successful municipal programs that may be of benefit to other municipalities. Three different population categories are available. The winner will be honored at the MML Annual Conference, September 7-10, in Springfield. All submissions will be entered into the Innovation Awards database. Nomination packets may be downloaded from the League’s Web site.

PUBLIC WORKS ARTICLES … The Missouri Municipal Review, the official publication for the Missouri Municipal League is once again publishing a public works issue in June. We are interested in soliciting articles about public works projects that have recently occurred in Missouri’s municipalities. If your city or firm has recently done an interesting or innovative project, please consider submitting an article for publication. Deadline for submission is May 5. Contact Katie Bradley at kbradley@mocities.com with any questions.

NEW CCFOA OFFICERS … At the recently held CCFOA Spring Institute, the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association elected the following new officers: President Millie Powell, New London; President Elect Karen Hotfelder, Troy; Secretary Kathie Needham, Aurora; and Treasurer Diane Monteleone, Fenton. The new officers’ terms begin May 1, 2008. City Clerk Millie Powell of New London received the Outstanding Clerk of the Year award.

PUBLIC UTILITIES SEMINAR … The Missouri Public Utility Alliance Spring Technical Conference will be held at the Independence Hilton Hotel on April 30 – May 1 with sessions on drinking water, wastewater, safety regulations, etc. The Web site for registration is mpua.org/seminars/.

Past
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2008
April /May
March

February
January