St. Louis County Proposition C
Simple majority required.Ballot wording: Shall Sections 5.010, 5.020, and 5.030 of the Charter of St. Louis County be amended to authorize the St. Louis County Council to retain legal counsel for certain purposes; to preserve separation of powers, legal counsel retained by the Council as authorized by this amendment shall not report to the County Counselor who serves at the pleasure of the County Executive as set forth in Exhibit A of Ordinance No. 29,110, on file with the St. Louis County Administrative Director and the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners?Summary: This proposed County Charter amendment, put on the ballot by the County Council, would allow the council to hire lawyers to represent the full council or any member. Council-hired attorneys wouldn t report to the county counselor, who is appointed by the county executive. Currently the council gets legal advice from the county counselor. Proponents say the existing system does not always provide timely service. They also say there can be conflicts of interest because the county counselor reports to the county executive. Opponents say an earlier charter change passed by voters in 2019 works well; it split the counselor s office into three sections serving the executive, legislative and judicial branches of county government, with all staff reporting to the counselor. One opponent, County Executive Sam Page, says the change would create confusion and possibly open the county to litigation if the county has multiple voices in legal strategy.
