Term limits, other Jackson County charter changes likely headed to November ballot

Pencil in November for that vote on term limits and other proposed changes to the charter for Jackson County government.

County Executive Frank White vetoed the measure on Friday that would have put those changes on the Aug. 7 primary election ballot, and did so with the assent, if not the blessing, of the county legislator who authored the proposal.

While White's veto was not unexpected, Greg Grounds' acceptance of it was. Grounds had been preparing an attempt to override a veto at the legislature's regular meeting on Monday.

But after long discussions behind the scenes this week, the Blue Springs Republican issued a statement Friday afternoon saying he would not attempt to overturn White's decision and would instead rework his plan.

"While the present ordinance has been pulled back regarding the county charter changes to be put to the public in August," Grounds said, "I remain committed to bringing forth a new ordinance for the November ballot that removes any perceived ambiguities. I look forward to working with other legislators and the county executive in doing so."

Grounds did not specify what those ambiguities were, nor did White. But in his veto message, White said Grounds' proposal would have had "potential negative consequences" that White said he believed were unintended.

He outlined some of his objections previously. A key one was how the changes were packaged. Voters would have been asked to vote yes or no on six separate proposals. But some of them contained multiple provisions that voters might have been conflicted on, White said in a prepared statement released hours after the legislature's May 7 votes to put those charter changes on the ballot.

"For example, any voter who wants to either move oversight of the jail to the county sheriff, change the administration of the COMBAT tax, or impose term limits, must vote to increase the pay for elected officials," the statement said.

He also complained that the proposals had been the product of a rushed process that led to errors.

"Such as, adding a provision that states the jail will be under the control of the county sheriff, while neglecting to remove the provision that states the jail will be administered by the county executive."

He said errors like that would likely lead to costly lawsuits.

Grounds' proposal would have limited legislators and the county executive to serving two consecutive four-year terms starting in 2019, and three terms for the county prosecutor and sheriff starting in 2021, after those officeholders' current terms end.

Those changes and proposals to shift more authority away from the county executive to other elected officials were inspired in part by conflicts between White and the legislature over the past two years.

In the case of terms limits, there's also a perception by some critics that the longevity of some legislators has been a factor in that tension. The average tenure of four senior members of the nine-member legislature is 22 years.

But even without charter changes, that number is about to fall with Grounds' planned retirement when his third term ends this year and with this week's announcement from Dennis Waits.

After eight terms and 32 years in office, Waits ended his re-election bid Thursday and asked that his name be taken off the ballot. His legislative aide, Jennifer Berry, withdrew earlier this month, leaving Paul Wrabec as the lone Democratic candidate in the 3rd District to face Republican Brice Stewart in November's general election.

That could change. On Monday, the filing window for that race will reopen for the rest of the week, allowing a potential challenger to enter the race.

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Term limits, other Jackson County charter changes likely headed to November ballot."