HomeMy Public PortalAbout15548 Charter Change Ballot InitiativeORDINANCE NO. 15548
AN ORDINANCE, with an emergency clause, calling an election for April 6,
2021, in the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified
voters of said District propositions to amend the Plan (Charter) of the District and authorizing the
election authorities of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County to conduct said election;
prescribing the form of propositions to be used and providing that notice of said election be given
and said election be held in accordance with all applicable Missouri law.
WHEREAS, the Plan of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (as amended from time to
time, the “Plan”) was approved by a separate majority of the voters of the City of St. Louis and those
voters of St. Louis County residing within the District's boundaries voting thereon at an election held for
that purpose on February 9, 1954; and
WHEREAS, the Plan was subsequently amended by approval by a separate majority of the
voters of the City of St. Louis and those voters of St. Louis County residing within the District's
boundaries voting thereon at elections held for that purpose on November 7, 2000 and June 5, 2012; and
WHEREAS, Section 11.020 of the Plan provides that on or before July 1, 2019 and every ten
years thereafter, the Board of Trustees of the District shall appoint members to a District Plan
Amendment Commission to review the Plan and to recommend proposed amendments, if any, to the Plan;
and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the District, taking into consideration those
recommendations, have comprehensively reviewed the Plan and based on said review, have determined to
enact amendments to the Plan in order to better effect and carry out the purposes for which the District
was created; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the District, after due deliberation and consideration of the
District Plan Amendment Commission, has determined that it is in the best interest of the District to
submit to the voters of the District propositions to amend the Plan; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The amendments to the Plan are hereby proposed and submitted to the voters of The
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District as set forth in Exhibits A and B attached hereto and made a part
hereof. Exhibit A identifies changes to the Plan as follows: additions are indicated by underscore, and
deletions are indicated by strikeout. Exhibit B constitutes a clean copy of the Plan with all additions and
deletions incorporated therein. The amendments to the Plan shall be voted on at an election to be held as
hereinafter provided.
Section 2. An election is hereby ordered to be held on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, for the purpose of
submitting to the qualified voters of the District the propositions as set forth in the form of Notice of
Election attached hereto as Exhibit C and incorporated herein by reference.
Section 3. The Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis and the Board of
Election Commissioners of St. Louis County shall conduct the election called for herein. Not later than
5:00 P.M. on the tenth Tuesday prior to the election (January 26, 2021), the Secretary-Treasurer of the
District is hereby directed to notify the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis and the
Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County of the election. The notice shall be in writing and
shall specify the name of the officer or agency calling the election and shall include a certified copy of the
legal notice to be published in connection with the election.
Section 4. Notice of the election shall be given by causing legal notice thereof to be published in
the manner required by applicable law, and particularly by Chapter 115, Revised Statutes of Missouri, as
amended, and by Section 10.010 of the Plan. The form of the Notice of Election for said election, a copy
of which is attached hereto as Exhibit C and made a part hereof, is hereby approved.
Section 5. The election shall be held at the polling places for the City of St. Louis designated by
the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis and for St. Louis County designated by the
Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County, said polling places to be set out in the final notice
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of said election published in accordance with the provisions of Section 115.127, Revised Statutes of
Missouri, or mailed in accordance with the provisions of Section 115.129, Revised Statutes of Missouri.
Section 6. The election shall be held and conducted and the results thereof shall be canvassed in
all respects in conformity with the Constitution and the laws of the State of Missouri. The judges of the
election shall be selected and appointed by the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis
and by the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County, in accordance with applicable law.
The returns of the election shall be certified to the District by the Board of Election Commissioners for
the City of St. Louis and by the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance or any other
ordinance of the District to the contrary, the Secretary-Treasurer of the District and the Board of Election
Commissioners for the City of St. Louis and the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County be
and hereby are authorized to take all action necessary or appropriate such that the election shall be
conducted in full compliance with the requirements of applicable law and particularly by Chapter 115,
Revised Statutes of Missouri, as amended, and the Plan.
Section 7. The revisions and amendments to the Plan contained in this Ordinance shall take
effect when they have been submitted to the registered voters residing within the District at a general or
special election and approved by a majority of those voting on the propositions in the portions of the
District situated within the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, respectively.
Section 8. This Ordinance shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with
the laws of the State of Missouri and the Plan.
Section 9. Emergency Clause. Communication is necessary prior to the election filing date of
January 2021, thus creating an emergency within the meaning of the Charter. Therefore, this Ordinance
should be enacted without delay and shall take effect immediately upon its enactment.
EXHIBIT A
RED-LINED DRAFT OF MSD’S PLAN (CHARTER)
(reflecting proposed amendments)
[On file in the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer of MSD]
EXHIBIT B
CLEAN DRAFT OF MSD’S PLAN (CHARTER)
(reflecting proposed amendments)
[On file in the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer of MSD]
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EXHIBIT C
NOTICE OF ELECTION
Notice is hereby given to the qualified voters of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (the
“District”) that the Board of Trustees of the District has called an election to be held in the District on
Tuesday, April 6, 2021, commencing at 6:00 A.M. and closing at 7:00 P.M., on the propositions
contained in the following sample ballot.
OFFICIAL BALLOT
SPECIAL ELECTION
THE METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
PROPOSITION 1
Shall the Plan (Charter) of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District be amended to
remove obsolete provisions, modernize certain provisions, references and language and
change certain provisions to align with current practices of the District, including but not
limited to (a) removing obsolete positions and titles, (b) replacing “city workhouse” with
“jail or detention facility”, (c) requiring that the District present annually to the City and
County only upon request, (d) adding gender, sexual orientation, familial status, ancestry
or national origin and disability to the list of protected classes, (e) providing that notice of
proposed rate changes can be given by posting on the District’s website and other digital
media, (f) replacing “affiliated with” with “a member of” with respect to the current
requirement that no two Trustees appointed from the City or County be “affiliated with”
the same political party, and (g) clarifying that documents submitted to the Board of
Trustees in connection with an annexation also be made available to the public?
YES
NO
PROPOSITION 2
Shall Article 5 of the Plan (Charter) of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District relating
to the passage of ordinances be amended to provide that (a) an affirmative vote by two
members of the Board of Trustees appointed from the City of St. Louis and two members
appointed from St. Louis County shall be necessary to pass any ordinance, resolution,
regulation, rule or order, except that with at least five Board members present and
unanimous consent of all Board members present, an affirmative vote of any four Board
members shall be sufficient for passage. and (b) ordinances shall take effect immediately
upon enactment unless a later date is specified therein?
YES
NO
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PROPOSITION 3
Shall Article 7 of the Plan (Charter) of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District relating
to the Rate Commission be amended to provide that (a) a Rate Commission
Representative Organization shall only have one voting Delegate, (b) the Rate
Commission Report shall be issued to the Board of Trustees no later than 165 days after
receipt of a Rate Change Notice, (c) the Board of Trustees is deemed to have accepted a
Rate Commission Report if not rejected by resolution of the Board of Trustees within 100
days from the date the Rate Commission Report is issued, and (d) a clarification be made
to the criteria governing rates so that the financial impact on all classes of ratepayers
is considered in determining a fair and reasonable burden?
YES
NO
PROPOSITION 4
Shall Articles 5 and 8 of the Plan (Charter) of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District
be amended to provide that (a) compensation of a Trustee shall be $25 for each day of
attendance at a public meeting of the Board and (b) compensation of a member of the
Civil Service Commission shall be $25 for each day of attendance at a meeting of the
Commission, not exceeding $625 in any one fiscal year?
YES
NO
PROPOSITION 5
Shall Article 7 of the Plan (Charter) of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District be
amended to permit the District to engage the same independent auditing firm for a period
in excess of five consecutive years if the District lets a competitive bid for auditing
services and the lead audit partner or concurring partner does not perform auditing
services for the District in excess of 5 consecutive years?
YES
NO
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INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS:
To vote in favor of a proposition submitted upon this ballot place a cross (X) mark in the square opposite
the word “YES”; and to vote against a proposition submitted upon this ballot, place a cross (X) mark in
the square opposite the word “NO.”
The election will be held and conducted by the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis
and by the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County under the general election laws
governing the District and said election will be held in each voting precinct in the District and at the
places designated therein by the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis and by the
Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County.
DATED THIS _______ DAY OF ________________, 20___.
BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS
OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
By: _______________________________
BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS
OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI
By: _______________________________
The foregoing Ordinance was adopted on November 12, 2020.