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Rules Committee backs ordinance setting mayoral succession order, includes two-year service requirement
Summary
The committee recommended Bill 25-048, an ordinance amending the city's emergency and disaster planning code to establish an order of temporary mayoral succession, to the full City Council. The draft sets committee chair order, fallback by seniority, and a two-year council service qualification for acting mayor.
The Lee's Summit Rules Committee voted to recommend Bill 25-048, an ordinance to add a continuity-of-government section to Chapter 10 (Emergency and Disaster Planning) establishing rules for temporary mayoral succession in the event of absence or disability.
City staff presented the ordinance text and said it would place the chairs of standing council committees in a defined succession order, followed by fallback to councilmembers by seniority if no committee chair is available. The draft also requires a person serving as chair of a listed committee to have "first served for 2 years at any time as a council member" before acting as mayor under the provision.
Mister Head, a city staff member, explained the draft language: "If neither the mayor [nor] mayor pro tem are available due to absence or disability, then the chairs of the following committees shall, in the order, in the following order of succession, act as mayor until the mayor or mayor pro tem resume the duties of their office." Head listed the committee order as public works, finance and budget, community and economic development, legislative intergovernmental relations, and rules.
Committee members discussed wording clarifications and process contingencies. Councilmember Carlisle and others asked staff to fix a garbled phrase in the fallback clause so it clearly refers to the councilmember with the highest seniority, then the next highest if needed. The committee also discussed how to handle a nominated person who declines to act; staff said an affidavit or written declination could be used and the succession would pass to the next person on the list.
Councilmember Hodges moved to recommend the ordinance to full council for approval; Councilmember Raider seconded. The committee recorded aye votes from Councilmember Raider, Chairperson Shields, Councilmember Carlisle and Councilmember Hodges and the motion passed.
Staff said the continuity language is intended to ensure a clear designee for mayoral duties in emergencies, including for declarations that trigger emergency response and coordination with state and federal agencies.
The committee asked staff to make minor wording corrections and to include a simple process for documenting when a person declines to serve so the city has a record and can proceed to the next designee. The Rules Committee will forward the ordinance and staff edits to the full City Council.
