Blue Springs council puts charter amendments before voters in April; term-limit proposals fail to be added

The Blue Springs City Council voted Jan. 21 to call an April 8, 2025 election to submit proposed amendments to the city charter as recommended by the Charter Review Commission.

Councilmember Erickson brought forward two attempted amendments to the ballot language during the meeting: one that would change the order of roll-call votes so the mayor is called in council seating order rather than last (tied to section 3.12(d)), and another that would implement term limits recommended by the commission (described in the meeting as a cap of four terms with staggered years). Both proposed additions were the subject of voice votes and failed to carry when the council voted on whether to add them to the ballot language.

Council members who spoke praised the volunteer Charter Review Commission for its work and urged voters to review and decide on the commission’s recommendations. An attendee during the new public-comment agenda item, Ken Harrell, noted the commission discussed transparency and public comment and had recommended placing an item related to public comment into the charter, though the commission later judged that rules and procedures could handle some elements.

On the motion to introduce bill 5288 (calling the election to submit charter amendments), the council approved both the first and second readings by roll call; recorded votes on second reading show the council adopted the bill with unanimous recorded ayes. The ordinance will formally place the recommended charter amendments before qualified city voters on April 8, 2025.

The council’s discussion included references to the commission’s composition (nine citizens appointed by council members and the mayor) and the commission’s internal split on some recommendations; council members described the recommendation on term limits as not unanimous among commission members.