O'Fallon and St. Peters: Just say no to Charter

The cities of O'Fallon and St. Peters are both discussing becoming Charter (home rule) cities. O'Fallon residents voted in April of 2006 to change from being a fourth class city under Missouri law to a third class city while St. Peters is a fourth class city. As a third or fourth class city a cities powers are specifically limited to the powers granted them under Missouri statutes, while under a charter, a city's power is broader in that it can enact laws so long as they are not in conflict with state law.

Some of the citizens behind the move to a Charter form of government are well intentioned, however, the misuse of power by both of these cities is reason enough to fight any attempt to give O'Fallon and St. Peters more power. In a story today in the Post-Dispatch, the head of the O'Fallon home rule committee, former alderman Mark Perkins stated: "The charter would be a good thing for the city, it could be crafted to fit O'Fallon's unique needs. As examples, a charter could specify whether the city has a full-time mayor and include ordinances tailored to O'Fallon's "particular development style."

When Perkins was an alderman, O'Fallon's "particular development style" included illegally annexing land, wide spread violations of O'Fallon ordinances including zoning laws, taxpayer financed infrastructure for the builders and developers, lack of enforcement of building codes and HBA drafted ordinances to name a few. All of this led to O'Fallon's uncontrolled and unregulated growth for which the taxpayers will be paying for years.

You can expect both cities to sell a Charter by telling the residents it will provide them with greater input in decision making process and that "home rule" is better than having the State tell us what we can or cannot do. The fact is a Charter will inevitably provide a city with more power than it currently has under state law. The history of both O'Fallon and St. Peters makes this a scary proposition for the residents.