Crestwood Charter Review Commission Meeting

The Crestwood Charter Review Commission met on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 6:30 PM at the Crestwood Government Center. During the meeting, the Commission continued its review of proposed charter changes, addressed a potential loophole in the term-limit language, and began reviewing Articles 11 through 15.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A resident spoke during public comment about the history of female flight attendants in commercial aviation. The resident asked that the Commission consider removing gendered language from the charter. Chair Bob Sweeney and other Commission members indicated they were not opposed to the change, but they were concerned about the current political climate affecting voter approval of the overall charter package. No formal action was taken on this comment.

Discussion Items

• Term Limits and Ward Hopping (Section 3.4): The Commission discussed a potential loophole in the proposed term-limit language. Chair Sweeney explained that the current proposed language does not specify whether moving from one ward to another resets an alderperson's term-limit clock. After discussion, the Commission reached a consensus to accept the mayor's suggested language, "regardless of ward or seat," to allow "ward hopping" while preventing gamesmanship. The Commission also agreed to refer the revised language to the city attorney to review for additional loopholes.
• Recall Election Language: The Commission continued discussing the proposed language for recall elections. They considered the process for recalling an official, the 45-day timeline for the board of aldermen to act, and whether a recall should require a special election or be held at the next legally available election date. They also noted that the election filing deadline could complicate the timeline and that holding a special election would be significantly more expensive.
• Review of Articles 11-15 (Charter Review): The Commission reviewed current Articles 11 through 15. They compared the original language with the proposed changes for Article 11 (campaign contributions and political activity). They discussed updating language to clarify that no city employee shall solicit campaign contributions or take part in political campaigns, while noting that Missouri law gives first responders more leeway than other city employees. They also considered whether to list protected classes in the equal opportunity language or use a broader, more inclusive approach to avoid leaving out future protected classes.
• Article 12 (Insurance/Indemnification): The Commission discussed Article 12, specifically the purpose of the city's indemnification of city officials and whether the term "insurance" was being used appropriately. There was also a discussion about potential liability coverage and how the city avoids waiving sovereign immunity through its current approach.
• Article 13 (Charter Review Commission): The Commission noted that the name "Charter Review Committee" would be updated to "Charter Review Commission" in the charter. They also discussed the 10-year review cycle and noted that the current review began in March 2025, which means the next review must begin by February so that the process stays on schedule.
• Article 15 (Transitional Provisions): The Commission discussed whether the new provisions should be numbered as Section 15.1, with the rest of the existing Article 15 to be reviewed by the city attorney. A correction was noted regarding the spelling of Commissioner Johnston's name in the supplemental section.
• Next Steps and Redline Version: The Commission discussed a plan to produce a full redline version of every proposed change in September 2025, to be reviewed line by line. The members also discussed producing a public-facing version for community updates. They planned to complete the redline version by early October, with further discussions and final revisions in October and possibly November.

Key Outcomes

• Consensus was reached to allow "ward hopping" under the term-limit provision by using the language "regardless of ward or seat," and to refer this language to the city attorney for review.
• The Commission agreed to review all proposed changes to Articles 1 through 15 in a full redline version in September, with the goal of completing that version by early October.
• The Commission agreed to continue reviewing the proposed changes and to consider final approval in future meetings.

Future Issues

• The next Commission meeting will focus on a full redline review of all proposed changes.
• The Commission is targeting completion of the redline version by early October.
• It is still to be determined whether the next full review meeting will be held in September or October.