Order.

Um, we've got uh three things on our agendas.

Up first is our conversation around municipal campaign finance reform.

Um so I'm gonna kick this over to Jackie or to Jack, I'm gonna kick it over to you, Jackie.

Um okay.

So this was a discussion that started last year about looking into potential um campaign fund limits um to even the playing field for candidates.

Um Kansas City, St.

Louis, and Springfield have all passed similar legislation, there's ordinances in place that limit the total of the money that can be used for municipal campaigns.

So that was a discussion that we wanted to talk about if one needs to follow suit um to look at that, what that would look like.

Um Carlin, do you want to talk about what staff is bringing forward or sure?

So with so what step uh we were some examples from different cities that have municipal finance uh campaign finance, so St.

Louis City, uh Kansas City, and in Springfield just recently.

They had one, they appealed it and they just recently passed another one.

I think uh May, I think I think went up for discussion in May and then I think it may have been May 10.

It was adopted May 5th because they talked about in April.

Yes, yes.

And so uh my thought is that it's something that the council would like to look at is that uh point a committee to review these different ordinances, give recommendations to the city council, and then those then that uh recommendations could be put into an ordinance and then we go on from that.

But I think the committee would only be around for that period of time.

So they would look at the what's existing and decide if we feel that in the city we should move that same direction and bring that back once it's brought to council that commitment would be resolved.

Yes.

Okay.

So then future, like if that is something that then turns into an ordinance in this past, then we'll need to have a discussion on oversight.

Correct.

And I think one of the things that I think that's one of the things that Spring Pool Brussels did is what does that oversight committee require to figure first they looked at an ethics commission?

I think they landed on a campaign finance committee.

So discussion on this thoughts, considerations.

My question is um the same one I asked you and Christina earlier part of this.

Um I I do understand that there are different amounts of money that is given for campaigns, but what makes that something that we need to monitor or why do we need an oversight of it?

Well, I think those are two different questions.

Well, then I those two would be fine, and then the other one is just if we get a committee or a commission or whatever you want to call it together to do this, then I assume this means we want to move forward with this.

It's not an explanation.

So I think committee, it's a committee that you want to come back with legislation.

So I think if we put a committee together, their first role would be to identify if they feel that the city would need campaign finance reform.

And then at that point, if com if council says, you know, yes, we agree with you because you found it, or yes, we agree with you, but I didn't.

If they come back with advice saying that this would benefit the city, then we then we would move forward with the established of a committee, commission, whatever that might look like.

Um why would they not come forward with that if we appoint a committee to look at that?

Well, they could I imagine they'd be looking at all the information if they feel it's not a concern for the city, or maybe we're not at a point in our city's growth or whatever that they wouldn't advise that we move forward with that.

I can I mean, and that's I think the point of the committee is to identify if we're at a point in the growth of our city that this is necessary.

And in my mind, as far as why, I am always of course looking through the accessibility lens.

And I think sometimes when people see the amount of money that candidates raise at various levels of of legislative offices, the thought of having to raise that much money, or it's like forget it.

I can't do that, and they just don't even consider it.

But if they know it's more of an even playing field, that may actually attract more candidates.

That answer all of your questions.

Yeah, pretty much, except for the whole if we get a committee.

So then we have to be really careful about how we ask them to do this.

If in fact we want an unbiased uh opinion.

Okay, yeah.

Um, Vera and then Valerie.

Um I had two things.

I think first on that point, I don't know if that's necessarily true when we have had boards and commissions evaluate things.

And I think the recent feedback that we got from the building codes commission where they were evaluating the energy code, and that commission chose to not chose not moving forward with that piece and just moving forward with the building codes.

I think that's an example of I think they do take into account whether they feel it is a time where we need to make that change.

Um, and obviously other commissions felt otherwise on that one.

Um the other so I do think that if we made a commission with this kind of task, I think we could trust them to evaluate whether or not it was the right time for Columbia, and they wouldn't just like feel that they have to come back with legislation.

Um I think something that was it you, Jackie, that mentioned in the email.

I can't remember if it was in your email or if it was in the um report that we got or the the context that we got from staff about um the city that did a um policies commission instead of a specific um campaign finance reform commission.

I personally am really interested in that kind of idea that can lead to not just looking at this issue, but once we have a commission of people who care about the policies that govern our community, then we can send them to look at other policies and not have to create a new task force, right?

Every time we want to look at something like that was I think that was a standing committee that they had in place, and so they assigned the campaign finance reform discussion to that committee.

Yeah, I like the idea of once we have disengaged if we move forward with this once we have this hypothetical engaged group of people, yeah.

Um helping them or them helping us look at further policies and not just this one.