City of Joplin news release explains proposed charter amendment

(From the City of Joplin)

Joplin voters to decide whether to approve proposed Home Rule Charter update

Introduction:

Joplin became a Home Rule Charter City on Feb. 9, 1954. The State of Missouri allows Home Rule cities to have a charter document, which essentially serves as the constitution for our municipal government. Home Rule Charter cities have more local control over how the municipal government operates than general law cities, which operate under the authority granted by the State. The current version of our Home Rule Charter was adopted in 2007 by a vote of Joplin residents.

On April 7, 2026, Joplin residents will either vote “yes” to accept or “no” to reject a proposed update to our Home Rule Charter, which is recommended by the Home Rule Charter Review Commission. The commission (which consisted of nine Joplin residents) reviewed certain sections of the Charter over several months in 2025 and voted to recommend the updates to the City Council. The City Council approved this Charter amendment to be placed on the April ballot. The proposed update would not impact taxation or city services.

Proposed Charter Amendment Question:

“Shall Section 2.12 of the Charter of the City of Joplin, Missouri, be amended to change the term ‘emergency’ ordinance to ‘expedited’ ordinance?”

Background:

Currently, when City Council needs to act on certain issues, the item may be considered as an “emergency” ordinance. This allows the Council to hold a single reading of the council bill, receive public input as well as Council input, and then vote on the matter at a single meeting. All other ordinances are read three times over at least two council meetings, which typically occur on the first and third Mondays of each month. As a result, urgent or routine council items can otherwise take 2-3 more weeks to receive final approval.

Emergency ordinances include many items such as:

Demolition of dangerous buildings that have been determined dangerous by the City’s Building Board of Appeals.

Routine purchase orders.

Construction contracts that may be time sensitive.

Approval of the city budget, after a prior public hearing and budget work sessions where the proposed budget is discussed and debated.

Other items that qualify under Charter Section 2.12.

While additional council meetings can sometimes be scheduled to speed up the process, coordinating those meetings can be difficult. For this reason, issues requiring timely action are typically brought forward as “emergency” ordinances, even when no life or death emergency exists.

What is the intent of the proposed charter amendment?

The intent of the proposed amendment is to make the process easier for the public to understand. The update would clarify that an ordinance does not need to involve a true emergency to be considered through this faster process, which still includes a public hearing.

Because the term “emergency” can be interpreted differently, renaming the process to “expedited” is intended to better reflect how it is actually used: for matters that require timely action, not necessarily life-threatening situations.

The Commission, as well as staff, believe that the word “expedited” better defines the ordinances brought to Council for approval in a single reading under this section.

What’s an example of a non-emergency which could warrant an expedited process?

For example, the City could experience unexpected but non-life-threatening damage to infrastructure that causes a significant wastewater leak. The City would have an interest in repairing the problem quickly. If the repair cost was not budgeted and exceeded $100,000, City Council approval would be required before work could begin.

In that case, an expedited process could allow Council to act more quickly, even though the situation would not be considered a life-and-death emergency.


View it on website