Rules Committee recommends charter review commission resolution, sets calendar and applicant limits

The Lee's Summit Rules Committee on a unanimous recommendation moved a draft resolution creating a Charter Review Commission to the full City Council, adding language to bar city employees from serving and a calendar for nominations and appointments.

Committee members said the resolution keeps the charter's 30% per-district residency cap and the minimum qualifications already in the charter while building a clear schedule for public applications and council nominations.

Mister Head, a city staff member who presented the draft resolution, said the charter requires that "no more than 30% of the commission members shall reside in any 1 council district" and that commissioners must be qualified voters of the city. Head told the committee the resolution follows the process used in the prior charter review—with each council member nominating one person and pairs of council members jointly nominating a third person for each district—then filling any unresolved seats by council appointment from the same district.

Councilmember Carlisle proposed and led discussion of timeline and outreach measures for the commission; committee members agreed on a proposed application window and nomination schedule. The committee added calendar language to the draft so the public application period, council nomination deadlines and appointment dates are explicit in the resolution rather than left blank.

The committee discussed whether the resolution should set experience or knowledge qualifications for nominees. Councilmember Rader and Councilmember Hodges both said they preferred not to add strict eligibility requirements that could exclude younger or less experienced applicants; Rader noted the charter only mandates voter qualification and a residency distribution limit. Councilmember Carlisle suggested the council could encourage nominees with familiarity with city government but not impose formal gating criteria.

On logistics, the committee agreed the city clerk's office will support the commission once appointed. Members recommended the following calendar that will be added to the draft resolution: application window July 9 to August 15, council nominations by the September 9 meeting, and appointment approval at the September 23 council meeting so the commission can schedule its first meetings before the end of the year.

Councilmember Carlisle moved to forward the amended resolution to the full City Council with a recommendation of approval; Councilmember Hodges seconded. The committee recorded aye votes from Chairperson Shields, Councilmember Rader, Councilmember Hodges and Councilmember Carlisle and the motion passed.

The resolution as amended also includes a clarification that no person serving as a council committee chair may act as mayor under the commission's rules unless that person has previously served at least two years as a council member, language the committee asked staff to clarify regarding prior service versus continuous service.

The committee asked staff to incorporate the employee prohibition, the calendar, and the minor wording cleanups and to send the revised draft to the full council.

The Rules Committee next meets March 20 at 11:30 a.m.