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Committee hears bill to let small fourth‑class cities appoint nearby residents to advisory boards
Summary
House Bill 73 would allow mayors of fourth‑class cities with fewer than 3,000 residents to appoint people who live within five miles (and own property or a business in town) to advisory boards and commissions. Sponsors said the change would help small towns fill boards; witnesses recommended clarifying exclusions for elected governing bodies and
Representative Tim Taylor introduced House Bill 73, which would permit fourth‑class cities with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants to allow mayors to appoint people who live within five miles and who either own property or run a business in the city to serve on appointed boards and commissions.
Sponsor Tim Taylor said the bill aims to help very small towns — where civic participation is shrinking as people move away — keep planning, zoning and other advisory boards populated so municipalities can function. "There are many small communities who are dwindling in size...Mayors are having a difficult time in filling positions on various boards, enough to even get a quorum to keep the city functioning," Taylor said.
The measure is narrowly targeted: it applies to fourth‑class cities under 3,000 population and, as drafted, requires appointees to either live within five miles of the city limits or to own property or a business in the city. It also contains language intended to prevent appointees from setting municipal utility rates or otherwise exercising financial authority that could create a conflict.
Committee members asked multiple technical questions. Several members suggested clarifying that the change applies only to appointed advisory bodies (for example, planning commissions and park boards) and should not permit appointing members to an elected governing body such as a board of aldermen. Richard Sheets, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League, testified in support and recommended explicitly excluding appointments to governing bodies: "It was really not our intent to include the governing body," Sheets told the committee.
Witnesses also discussed implementation details such as whether an appointee must have municipal taxes paid (some members said taxes paid is required for elected offices but not typically for statutory advisory boards) and whether the five‑mile limit or alternate residency tests (for example, a town’s postal address area) should be used. The sponsor and witnesses said they were willing to work with committee members on clarifying language and potential amendments.
Rebecca Eichelberger, testifying for the Missouri Public Utility Alliance, said the association supported the bill, noting the provision that appointees should not be able to set utility rates or issue bonds in places where a separate utility board performs those duties.
No one testified in opposition and the committee did not take a final vote. Members indicated intent to continue refining statutory language in committee before advancing the bill.
