Missouri Municipal Review Magazine

REVIEW

A U N I T E D V O I C E F O R M I S S O U R I M U N I C I PA L L E A G U E C O M M U N I T I E S

THE MISSOURI MUNICIPAL

July/August 2021

Join Us In September!

Union Station, St. Louis, Mo.

September 26-29, 2021 Featuring Keynote Speaker:

Kevin Brown

www.mocities.com Kimberling City's Vision |101 Unleashing Hero | Sheriffs' Retirement Fund Municipal Government • Positive Your Policing • Annual Conference Photos

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Our commitment to our communities remains steadfast as we help build and rebuild the transforming world around us. We’re with you all the way.

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This information is for institutional investor use only, not for further distribution to retail investors, and does not represent an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any fund or other security. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in any of the Missouri Securities Investment Program’s portfolios. This and other information about the Program’s portfolios is available in the Program’s current Information Statement, which should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the Information Statement may be obtained by calling 1-877-MY-MOSIP or is available on the Program’s website at www.mosip.org. While the MOSIP Liquid Series seeks to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share and the MOSIP Term portfolio seeks to achieve a net asset value of $1.00 per share at the stated maturity, it is possible to lose money investing in the Program. An investment in the Program is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Shares of the Program’s portfolios are distributed by PFM Fund Distributors, Inc., member Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (www.finra.org) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) (www.sipc.org). PFM Fund 2 theReview July/August Distributors, Inc. is a wholly2021 owned subsidiary of PFM Asset Management LLC.

THE MISSOURI MUNICIPAL

July/August 2021; Volume 86, No. 4

CONTENTS Features 6 City Of Kimberling City: Visioning

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The Future

by Jerry Harman and Lee Langerock

11 It's A Nuisance! Enforcing Code Regulations With Administrative Warrants

by Paul Martin 16

Unleashing Your Hero

by Kevin Brown

20 MML 87th Annual Conference • • • •

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Overview Agenda Events Pre-Conference

25 Regionalization And Consolidation

In Missouri: Two Perspectives, One Viewpoint

by Teresa Bullock, Ashley Keely and Jackie Johnson

28 EPA Takes New Steps To Regulate PFAS

by James T. Price

30 FAQ: Request For Proposals

by Ramona Huckstep

33 News From The Bench: Missouri

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Sheriffs' Retirement Fund Surcharge Found Unconstitutional

by Frank J. Vatterott, Esq.

Departments Top Photo Credit (Kimberling City): JMS Photography

4 President's Review 37 Local Government Review: MML Regional Meetings And Visits

38 2021 EOT Conference 40 Member News 42 MML Calendar Of Events

MISSOURI MUNICIPAL LEAGUE BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Chuck Caverly, Council Member, Maryland Heights Vice President: Joe Garritano, Council Member, Wildwood; Damien Boley, Mayor, Smithville; Paul Campo, Attorney, Williams and Campo, PC; Bryant Delong, Council Member, North Kansas City; Michele DeShay, Mayor, Moline Acres; Cemal Unmut Gungor, City Administrator, Grandview; Dwaine Hahs, Mayor, Jackson; Heather Hall, Council Member, Kansas City; *Debra Hickey, Mayor, Battlefield; *Chris Lievsay, Council Member, Blue Springs; *Norman McCourt, Mayor, Black Jack; Chris McPhail, Alderman, Clever; Sheryl Morgan, City Clerk, Blue Springs; Heather Navarro, Alderman, St. Louis; Lori Obermoeller, Finance Director, Creve Coeur; Len Pagano, Mayor, St. Peters; Cindy Pool, Council Member, Ellisville; Matt Robinson, Mayor, Hazelwood; *Kathy Rose, Mayor, Riverside; *Carson Ross, Mayor, Blue Springs; Matt Turner, Alderman, Harrisonville; *Gerry Welch, Mayor, Webster Groves; Jeana Woods, City Administrator, Osage Beach *Past President AFFILIATE GROUPS Missouri City Management Association; City Clerks and Finance Officers Association; Government Finance Officers Association of Missouri; Missouri Municipal Attorneys Association; Missouri Park and Recreation Association; Missouri Chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors; Missouri Chapter of the American Public Works Association; Missouri Association of Fire Chiefs EDITORIAL Laura Holloway / Editor Lholloway@mocities.com Richard Sheets and Lori Noe Contributing Editors GRAPHIC DESIGN Rhonda Miller The Review July/August 2021; Volume 86, No. 4 The Missouri Municipal Review (ISSN 00266647) is the official publication of the Missouri Municipal League state association of cities, towns and villages, and other municipal corporations of Missouri.

Publication office is maintained at 1727 Southridge Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

Subscriptions: $30 per year. Single copies: $5 prepaid. Advertising rates on request.

Published bi-monthly. Periodicals postage paid at Jefferson City, Missouri.

Postmaster: Send form 3579 to 1727 Southridge Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

To contact the League Office call 573-635-9134, fax 573-635-9009 or email the League at info@mocities.com.

Website: www.mocities.com. www.mocities.com

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President's Review

by Chuck Caverly, Council Member, Maryland Heights, and MML President

Hats Off To Municipal Advocates This was a tough year in Jefferson City. Legislators and lobbyists began the session this year with many restrictions in place, while the pandemic still had a huge hold on the state. MML interim executive director Richard Sheets could be found listening in to many committee meetings via Zoom, and testifying from remote locations.

The challenges did not keep your MML advocates from putting cities first. In fact, far from it.

MML continued their usual strong pattern of continued relationships and negotiations with lawmakers and worked closely with the lobbyists employed directly by municipalities. A coordinated strategy resulted in some of the best legislative outcomes for cities in years.

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Five of the six priorities directly affecting your community were achieved. Through hard work and bold action, MML is now a stronger and more respected force at the Capitol, and the results this year are testament to that.

"

Five of the six priorities directly affecting your community were achieved. This included Wayfair legislation, a fuel tax increase, COVID-19 liability protections, important Sunshine Law provisions and prescription drug monitoring, This happened because MML is willing to negotiate. They lead the way to advocate for principles that benefit our communities, and no longer have a reputation of merely arguing against harmful bills. The extra work, determination and relationship-building is worth the time and effort.

Through hard work and bold action, MML is now a stronger and more respected force at the Capitol, and the results this year are testament to that.

As a local official, you have one of the hardest jobs, but also one of the greatest opportunities for service. Your hard work and bold action also mean great developments in your own community, and I salute the work you do.

Let MML help you with the challenges you face by serving as a dependable resource.

I invite you to join us in September at the MML Annual Conference in St. Louis and bring home the expert knowledge you will find there.

The conference will have special meaning this year as we are able to gather together face to face. We have had a tremendous response so far from attendees and exhibitors – it is clear many of you are excited to meet again! Be a part of the discussions regarding resiliency, cybersecurity, leadership and so much more.

Find the agenda and special events planned on pages 20-23 of this publication.

Thank you for your continued work and dedication serving your community!

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theReview July/August 2021

Join Us In St. Louis!

MML Annual Conference September 26-29, 2021

Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri

TOP

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: KEVIN BROWN

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REASONS TO ATTEND THE

MML Annual Conference

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Learn from top experts in local government on topics such as: • Cybersecurity • Water and Sewer Infrastructure • Recovery and Resilience • Census Data and Redistricting • Economic Development and more!

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Network in person and reconnect with your fellow local government leaders.

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Meet with more than 100 exhibitors sharing products and expert services to help your community recover after the pandemic.

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Enjoy historic Union Station St. Louis, with many attractions including the St. Louis Aquarium, Grand Hall Light Show and the St. Louis Wheel.

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MML staff have missed you!

Learn more and register at:

www.mocities.com

www.mocities.com

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FEATURE Review

by Jerry Harman and Lee Langerock

City Of Kimberling City: Visioning The Future

Within municipal government there is a complex balance between functional operations, customer service and community expectations. Not every community begins its strategic planning with consideration of a vision statement.

For communities that do, providing service and setting the strategy for the future becomes more relevant and focused.

In a tourist community where guests outnumber the residential population, meeting customer demand and providing continuity of service while maintaining an aging infrastructure presents daily challenges. To help address these challenges, the city of Kimberling City is beginning a strategic planning process. The first stop is developing and adopting a vision statement.

Kimberling City boasts the largest marina on Table Rock Lake. Nestled on the water’s edge, Kimberling City is 6

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surrounded on three sides by water. Cruisers, pontoons and fishing boats sit in their slips creating an extended community of water dwellings, ready for the day’s adventure on Table Rock Lake. The fourth natural border is the rising cliffs of the Ozark mountains. The lush mountainside in Kimberling City hosts neighborhoods overlooking the lake.

The community of approximately 2,500 people doubles and triples in size during the height of the season as tourists come to enjoy the lake, Branson’s attractions, and the region’s other natural amenities. The annual migration to Kimberling City is generational. It is a great family-focused environment that invites visitors and residents to relax and return each year.

Highway 13 bisects the community and provides a gateway to Springfield and beyond. The highway corridor serves as a business district where new business dots the landscape while

Kimberling City’s Vision Statement Kimberling City is the premiere familyfriendly, residential and recreational lakeside community in the Midwest. Our City is dedicated to preserving a high-quality, relaxed, safe and natural environment for all to enjoy now and is committed to maintaining these values for future generations to come.

Kimberling City’s Value Statement The community of approximately 2,500 people doubles and triples in size during the height of the season as tourists come to enjoy the lake, Branson’s attractions, and the region’s other natural amenities. Photo Credit: JMS Photography

The city of Kimberling City pledges to provide high-quality customer service to residents, guests and businesses while maintaining a safe, family-friendly, vibrant community that celebrates its heritage and opens new opportunities.

other areas of the corridor are ripe for revitalization. Within the City, all roads lead to the water. It is evident from a drive “Developing a vision statement takes discipline and through the town that people visit and live in the community the knack for keeping things simple,” says Lee Langerock, because of the natural beauty of the area and to enjoy lake life. managing director for Prep the Page. “It’s one of the first, About five years ago, the city of Kimberling City took the most important steps to defining comprehensive goals and positive step to hire a full-time city administrator. Prior to designing a strategic plan. Having a clear vision and vision that time, the community’s infrastructure evolved organically. statement is the mantra of the organization. It shapes culture While the first four years have been devoted to developing and becomes something to utilize in everyday operations and professional standards, building citizens trust and developing in communicating with the community.” a customer-centric focus, now the city of Kimberling City is Too often, well-meaning vision statements become a setting its sights on future sustainability and growth.

Christmas tree of words. There are hundreds of examples “Our community is going through transition,” states Jerry demonstrating a vision statement as a paragraph of several Harman, city administrator. “The City needs a statement sentences that no one in the organization can recite or relate. reflective of our community’s current values and descriptive Because of that, the vision statement itself loses its relevance. of our future aspirations. Taking the time to develop a vision statement to build toward the future is the first step in developing our organization’s strategic plan.”

Harman's background is executive operations in the private sector where he noted firsthand the power of a vision a winning statement. Vision statements are common in the business community. Businesses unity needs: comm utilize their statements to communicate their position in the marketplace and create a unified, aspirational pinpoint that defines clear strategy their vision of success.

The City contracted a professional focused marketing services firm, Prep the Page, to help facilitate the discussion and articulate its ultimate vision. The planning process involved the effective execution City’s staff, elected officials, community stakeholders and city management, and included meetings over a three-day period.

816.873.1707 At the end of the sessions, the consultant info@prepthepage.com and city team had developed a draft of what would become the vision and value statements adopted by City Council. www.mocities.com

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In a tourist community where guests outnumber the residential population, meeting customer demand and providing continuity of service while maintaining an aging infrastructure presents daily challenges. To help address those challenges, the city of Kimberling City is beginning a strategic planning process. The first stop is developing and adopting a vision statement. Photo Credit: JMS Photography

Local Government Workers

ALWAYS ESSENTIAL

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Thank you to all public servants working to keep our communities safe and healthy.

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800-477-4334 | molagers.org

Here are five useful keys to help define and align your city’s vision: 1. Define the Purpose: Are you defining a vision specifically for the city’s operation or is the statement intended to be used as a community vision? Separate the distinction.

2. It is Okay to be Vague: A vision statement is intended to be somewhat abstract to allow room for organizational development.

3. Keep it Simple: A vision statement is meant to be inspirational, aspirational, finite and simple.

4. Be Relevant: A vision can be somewhat lofty; that is how communities are transformed. Photo Credit: JMS Photography However, the vision statement also needs to be relatable and relevant.

“Going through a process to develop a vision is important 5. Be Accountable: Everyone should be able to remember because it gives us that guidepost upon which to measure and it. This creates continuity and accountability. achieve,” Harman says.

During their vision statement planning, the city of Setting a vision is an important first step that sets the Kimberling City defined the need for the statement to focus bedrock for further improvement and development, as an internally for city operations. The process segregated the organization and a community. The city of Kimberling City’s vision and core values of the City that helped to articulate sights are now facing in a future direction. each statement. The result outlined an action plan to adopt and integrate their vision and values into the culture of city Jerry Harman has spent more than 30 years in the private sector hall and its employees’ service to community. directing several production facilities with staff ranging from 100-800

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employees. Skills of change management, process documentation, strategic planning and leadership development learned over the years are used every day as he leads the city of Kimberling City, serving its citizens and striving for continuous improvement.

Lee Langerock is an entrepreneur, consultant and business investor. For more than 20 years, she has worked with municipalities and communities to create and implement action-based strategies for community and economic development.

Prep the Page, LLC, is a Missouri-based professional services firm focused on helping city managers and non-profit executives develop and implement positive solutions for the communities they serve. Predominately focused on improving rural economies, Prep the Page experts provide decades of experience in public and private-sector development.

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FEATURE Review

by Paul Martin

It's A Nuisance!

Enforcing Code Regulations With Administrative Warrants The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches, and its violation can get you sued. A warrant, an authorization issued by a court permitting the inspection of property for specified purposes, assures that a search is constitutionally reasonable.

But do you need a warrant all the time to enforce the city’s codes? Not necessarily, but it can be a very blurry line, and routine warrant practice is the safe way to go.

T h i s a r t i c l e at t e mp t s to answer the “need for a warrant” question in specific contexts, but please keep in mind that a vast amount of judicial ink has been spilled attempting to define the scope of the right to privacy. It all comes down to your particular facts, and for that, you need the advice of your particular city attorney. While this article provides general information and opinions of the author, it is not intended, nor should it be taken, as legal advice. With that caveat, here are some questions and answers.

A code enforcement officer (CEO) receives a complaint about a particular property.

What steps can the CEO take to document the property issues without obtaining

Can the official walk up to the front door and take pictures on the property?

an administrative search warrant? Is it OK to take pictures from the street?

The first step a CEO could take is to ask permission of the owner (or occupant) to inspect the property. If the owner allows the search, there is no need for a warrant. If the owner denies the search, the fundamental legal question is whether the owner has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area to be searched. If there is no such expectation, then there is no need for a warrant. Taking photos from the street is fine, because the search area is wide open to the public’s view. This is called the “plain view” exception to a warrant requirement.

It depends. CEOs can generally walk up to a front door for the purpose of initiating an investigation, if the area is open and accessible to the general public. This is called “knock and talk,” and in the course of doing so, the CEO can observe property details, and even take photos of property conditions that are in plain view. For example, on a suspected occupancy code violation, the CEO can enter private property and walk up to and knock on the front door to see if anyone answering will permit an inspection. In doing so, the CEO can take note of and photograph window treatments, plants, porch chairs, etc. (things that suggest occupancy) that are in “plain view”. However, the CEO should not try to peer into windows or open doors.

On the other hand, if the front yard or the path to the front door is gated; if the area is screened by fencing or vegetation; or if the property is posted with a “No Trespassing” sign, then these are all indications that the owner has attempted to protect, and has a reasonable expectation of, his or her privacy. In such cases you should seek www.mocities.com

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an administrative warrant and let a judge decide if a search is appropriate.

This protects both the owner’s privacy right and you from a civil rights claim of violating that right.

What about entering the back yard? Does it matter if the yard is open or fenced?

The same general rule applies. If the back yard is nothing more than an open field that is accessible to the public, the CEO may be constitutionally safe in entering the property. This is sometimes called the “open fields” exception, but you should ask your city attorney before going warrantless, because it can depend on other facts that are particular to your circumstances.

Use of the open fields exception is a rarity in urban areas, because property owners generally do not expect random members of the public (or CEOs or police officers) to be traipsing through their back yard. They may well have a reasonable expectation of privacy in those areas and a fence, or screening, or

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theReview July/August 2021

a “No Trespassing” sign only reinforces that expectation. So, check with your city attorney, and get a warrant first.

What about inspecting a back yard by way of the neighbor’s property?

This can help, but you still need to be careful. If the neighbor invites you in, and if the search area is in plain view of the neighbor’s back yard, you can

take note of and photograph existing code violations without violating the constitution, but if the target area is screened by fencing or landscaping, the neighbor’s permission is probably meaningless.

Again, it depends on the particular facts. If a chain link fence separates the neighbor’s yard from the target search area, the property conditions are in plain view and no warrant is needed. But if the yard has a privacy fence and the only way

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to get a look is by climbing the neighbor’s tree or scaling a ladder in the neighbor’s yard, that is a questionably reasonable search. The best course is to get a warrant and inspect the property directly.

What about the use of drones? Could an inspector fly a drone around or over a house and use those pictures to demonstrate the need for nuisance enforcement?

Again, it likely depends on the reasonable expectation of privacy, that cannot be assessed without specific facts. Drones have the capability to hover over the target property as well as adjacent public and private property, and their vertical capability permits operation at eye-level, above or below the tops of trees or buildings, and even in navigable airspace. They can also be equipped with cameras that can record at significant distances. All these factors make it impossible to provide a blanket answer on the warrantless use of drones for code enforcement.

In addition, the law has not sufficiently developed to address this comparatively new technology. In 1989, the United 14

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States Supreme Court held that a property owner had no reasonable expectation of privacy from the surveillance of his residential yard by police using a helicopter hovering 400 feet over his property. The helicopter police found marijuana being cultivated, and the owner went to jail. A court plurality reasoned that navigable airspace is open to all, and anyone could look down into the owner’s property, hence there was no reasonable expectation of privacy. Florida v. Riley, 488 U.S. 445 (1989). While this case suggests generally that using drones for warrantless code enforcement may well be constitutional—at least if operated from navigable airspace, the absence of a majority opinion, along with subsequent cases, raise questions about the plurality’s analysis.

The closer the drone gets to the yard in question, the more likely local judges are to find a privacy right. In 2015, a Kentucky landowner shot down a drone that was supposedly hovering over his property, possibly recording his sunbathing daughter. The owner was charged with wanton endangerment and criminal mischief for the discharge of his weapon, and he defended using the state’s “stand your ground” law, claiming he had a right to prevent the drone’s

trespass and privacy invasion. The court agreed, dismissing the criminal charges because of the privacy invasion.

While the use of drones has become more commonplace, and will only increase as time goes by, it seems plain that most people today would be disturbed by a drone hovering over or near their land, inspecting their property and observing their actions while taking pictures, and they will undoubtedly argue that such use is an unreasonable privacy invasion. Eventually ubiquitous drone use may reduce a homeowner’s backyard privacy expectations, and courts may one day declare the air a constitution-free zone. But that day has not yet arrived, and until it comes, the safe course is to get a warrant.

Once an abatement has been ordered, does a city need a search warrant to have a nuisance abated? Can a city go on private property to pick up junk or mow a lawn?

In abatement cases, you must consider both the legality of the entry onto private property and the destruction or removal of the property creating the code violation. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable seizures, too; one person’s junk is another’s treasure.

Missouri statutes authorize cities to abate nuisances on private property, but these statutes do not override constitutional protections. Unless the city has the permission of the property owner, the safe approach is to get a warrant before abating a nuisance.

The same general rule of a reasonable expectation of privacy applies.

There will be scenarios that may permit warrantless abatement, e.g., overgrown weeds or an abandoned automobile on a lot that is open and accessible to the public. Another scenario may be if the abatement need is emergent, such as if unruly vegetation impairs the line of sight for safe traffic flow, or if a dangerous building frequented by kids or transients is in danger of imminent collapse.

But the reality is that these conditions generally do not develop overnight and having a warrant procedure in place and ready to go should lead to a simple

application process and a quick approval by your municipal court. If there is any question, the safest way of proceeding is to get the warrant.

What if my city does not have a municipal court or an administrative warrant ordinance?

It is true that administrative warrants generally involve municipal courts.

Many cities in Missouri have passed legislation that enables them to apply for such warrants, and those ordinances also provide a method and standards for getting a judge’s approval. Again, the goal is to ensure that the property owner’s right of privacy is considered and protected while at the same time letting the city perform its code enforcement function. But what happens if there is no municipal court, or if the city has not established a warrant process?

The legal answer to this question requires an analysis and understanding of the constitutional separation of powers between the judicial and the legislative branches of government, but in sum, the authority of a court - any court - to issue warrants appears to be a power inherent to the judiciary’s role in the enforcement of the laws falling within the court’s jurisdiction. Missouri Supreme Court rules suggest this, as they provide for the warrant authority, and while state or local legislation can establish and define a warrant process, such legislation does not appear to be a legal predicate to a court’s exercise of the warrant authority.

It follows that your city attorney could apply for a warrant to either the circuit court having jurisdiction over your city, if your city lacks a municipal court, or to your own municipal court, even if your city has not enacted an ordinance for administrative search warrants. Your city attorney, of course, will have to be comfortable with doing so, but it seems doable to this writer.

Conclusion Yes, it is a nuisance to get a warrant to combat a nuisance, but the warrant protects city officers, and the city itself, from liability while at the same time protecting the privacy rights of the property owner. Establishing a process, along with forms for warrant applications, issuance and returns is easier than you think, because of the proliferation of such vehicles in cities throughout the state. And following the process, while initially intimidating, becomes routine after a couple of cases.

If your city does not have a warrant ordinance, it should enact one. If your city has a warrant ordinance, it should use it. Err on the side of caution; if in doubt, seek a warrant out!

Paul Martin has represented local governments in the St. Louis region for more than 30 years and currently represents the cities of Rock Hill, Olivette and Crystal Lake Park. He can be reached at paul@paulmartinpc.com.

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FEATURE Review

by Kevin Brown

During the pandemic we have heard the words “hero” and “essential” on a daily basis. We have watched as everyday people in communities, families and organizations all over the planet rise to the challenges we have all faced during the crisis. And, while we may not all be in the same boat, we have all certainly been in the same storm.

One of the things that I have noticed during the past 15 months is that crisis never makes heroes, it simply reveals them.

We have watched people and organizations use this season to create new opportunities to serve their customers. They are not bogged down trying to manage change; they are busy leveraging change and solving problems for the people they serve. They understand that the goals have not changed, simply the path has changed. As leaders, they have gone to work managing human realities and corporate objectives. they are focused on taking care of people and adjusting to the current circumstances while preparing to accelerate growth in the future ahead.

In the past decade, I have been around the world sharing an idea called The HERO Effect® with high achievers and world class organizations. An idea that all started with one simple question. A question that changed my life forever. Here is the question: 16

theReview July/August 2021

What Does A Hero Look Like?

From our military men and women to world changers and first responders, we all recognize and believe in heroes. In fact, if you ask most people what a hero looks like, they will define heroes as “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

While that is a noble ideal, we respectfully disagree. After chasing down heroes all over the world, from every walk of life, we believe that the definition of a hero is just the opposite.

A hero is an extraordinary person who

chooses not to be ordinary.

This changed everything.

What I have learned is that heroes do certain things better than everyone else. They show up with a different mindset and focus. Specifically, I noticed four, fantastic qualities that are evident every time a hero shows up: 1. Heroes help people, with no strings attached.

Everyone comprehends that heroes help people. We understand on some level that helping others is a key ingredient to success in life. We have heard from many sources that serving others is the pathway to making a difference and creating wealth. Yet, even though we are taught this idea of servanthood, it has been my experience that most people actually do not get it.

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17

“[Optimism] is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets.” ~Robin Roberts

I have observed that most people try to be helpful to the extent that it is worth their anticipated return on investment.

They evaluate if it is worth their time and attention to give something more for a greater something in return. In other words, there is a motive. There is quid pro quo. It is conditional upon another person’s action. Many people bargain, negotiate and work an angle to get what they want. Heroes do not.

Heroes help people ... with no strings attached. No pretense.

No conditions. No agreement. No contingencies. It is the dot, dot, dot that separates the hero from everyone else.

Heroes approach their work and their life very differently.

They bring a passion and a focus on the outcome for their customer, student, co-worker and friend that is different from almost everyone else. They are not caught up in transacting business. They are deeply caught up, however, in transforming moments and leaving the people they serve wanting more.

Heroes step up and deliver excellence every single time.

Because of this, their fans evangelize their story to the rest of the world. In business, they drive new customers and more business to heroes again and again and again.

You can become the hero whom people yearn to be around because they know that you operate with a no strings attached mindset.

2. Heroes create an exceptional experience for the people they serve.

Heroes make life better. They simplify things and are easy to do business with. Heroes know that the easier it is to do business with them, the harder it is for the competition to take their customers. Heroes dominate the emotional space between their customer’s head and their heart. They know that if they make an emotional connection, people will fight to find the logic to support their decision to do business with you.

Exceptional service is worth going out of my way to invest my time and money with someone who is amazing at their job. That is what I want for my business, and it is what I want for my personal life with my friends and family: to be the only choice, to be the obvious choice.

The Non-Negotiables The number one thing that keeps you from being your best is your decision to be ordinary. Deciding to show up and be like everyone else. Deciding to do the minimum required to get by.

If you want to be your very best, then decide on your nonnegotiables. A non-negotiable mindset deals in absolutes, the things that will not be compromised. There is no bending or flexing. The things that you refuse to sacrifice at any price.

18

theReview July/August 2021

What do you stand for? Decide what will not be compromised in your life. Decide how others will define their experience with you. Decide your own operational philosophy for life that will reach beyond your professional life and into everything you do.

3. Heroes take responsibility for their attitude, their actions and their results.

There is a motivational quote that says, “If it is to be, it is up to me!” How true it is.

Unfortunately, many people have modified that quote to say, “If it is to be, do not look at me!” Average people are content to move their own integrity outside of their responsibility. They look to the people around them and point the finger. They blame leadership. They spend more time looking for the reasons they cannot get it done and zero time figuring out how to make it happen.

Heroes act differently. Heroes are the epitome of what it means to take responsibility for their results. They own the moment and know that every moment matters. They spend their time looking for ways to make it happen and produce the best possible outcome for the people they serve.

Heroes take responsibility and lead by example.

4. Heroes see life through the lens of optimism.

Optimism is different than positive thinking. Positive thinkers are great pretenders. If they encounter a challenge, roadblock or obstacle, they pretend that it does not exist. They believe if they ignore it, it might just disappear.

The optimist, on the other hand, encounters the same challenge, roadblock or obstacle, and they face it head on.

They acknowledge it as a problem that requires focus and attention to conquer.

Optimism gives heroes a couple of secret weapons. First, it gives them supernatural vision. It allows them to see what

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others cannot see. They see their jobs, families, communities and lives in a new light. They see things not as they are, but as they can be, people not as they are, but as they can be. They see situations and circumstances not as they are, but as they should be.

Second, optimism is the great equalizer. It helps us process information differently, to see what others see, but apply it in a different way. Heroes use this power as leverage to stay one step ahead of everyone else and act in a manner that seems to give them a slight edge.

In order to serve others, heroes rise above the challenges and adversities of everyday life. They have conditioned themselves to be bigger than their problems. They lift themselves and others up and provide a new perspective.

Heroes look for solutions instead of reasons that it cannot be done. They learn how to look from above the fray where they can think, create and decide on the things that are most important to move their highest priorities forward.

Becoming A Hero Each of these qualities seems so simple, right? However, if you were to be a champion of all four of these simple qualities, you would be a hero to everyone around you. That is a choice that you can make, starting now.

Kevin Brown, Motivational Speaker & Author Kevin Brown’s unconventional path to business and personal success has taught him that winning in business and in life requires anything but conventional thinking. For two decades, he was a sales and marketing executive that helped grow a little, known family business into an industry giant. After a career in franchising, Brown decided to retire from corporate America and pursue his passion for bringing The HERO Effect® message to as many people and organizations as possible.

He is on a mission to help people and organizations embrace a simple philosophy that separates world-class organizations and highperformance people from everybody else. To learn more, visit www.

KevinBrownSpeaks.com.

Learn more about The Hero Effect at the MML Annual Conference!

St. Louis Union Station September 26-29, 2021

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19

MML 87TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Join Us In St. Louis!

MML 87th Annual Conference September 26-29, 2021 Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri Full Registration Early Bird *Until August 6, 2021

$400

Early-Bird Pricing Until

August 6!

*After August 6, 2021

$450

You’ll receive: • • • • • • • • •

Welcome Reception (2 drink tickets) Keynote Presentation Coffee & Conversation Exhibit Hall Entry Monday Box Lunch Popcorn & Prizes Bacon & Business Meeting Awards Luncheon Breakfast Buffet & Keynote

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: KEVIN BROWN Motivational speaker and author Kevin Brown is passionate about helping people and organizations embrace a simple philosophy that separates world-class organizations and high-performance people from everybody else - he calls it The HERO Effect®. Through his presentations, Kevin entertains, inspires and challenges people to show up every day and make a positive difference at work and in life!

Wednesday Breakfast Keynote:

Economic Lessons From The Greater St. Louis Experience Beginning on January of this year, five private-sector civic and economic development organizations in the St. Louis metro area merged to form Greater St. Louis, Inc. This historic act of both defragmentation and commitment to being a growing and more inclusive metro coincided with the first metropolitan jobs plan in over a decade. Jason Hall will share lessons from the merger, an update on progress, and an outlook on where the St. Louis metro economy is headed.

Grand Opening Reception

Bacon & Business

Coffee & Conversation

Awards Luncheon

The Conference kicks off with a reception Sunday evening held in the Exhibit Hall. Network with exhibitors and colleagues while enjoying appetizers and drinks. Everyone is invited!

Join us for a continental breakfast Monday before the Keynote address and network with exhibitors and fellow attendees.

Popcorn & Prizes

After the conclusion of sessions on Monday, join us for popcorn and beverages in the Exhibit Hall. At 4 p.m., exhibitors will draw names for prizes. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.

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theReview July/August 2021

Start your Tuesday morning with breakfast and add your voice to important changes proposed to the MML policy statement.

Join us for lunch and to honor MML Innovation Award winners along with other award recognitions.

Register Now! www.mocities.com

REGISTER NOW! WWW.MOCITIES.COM

Tentative Agenda Sunday, September 26 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

12 p.m.

12-4 p.m.

1-3 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

5 p.m.

4-5 p.m.

5-6:30 p.m.

CCFOA Advanced Academy Registration Booth Installation Pre-Conference Workshop: 7+1=16: Strategies for creating a team that is far greater than the sum of its’ parts Nominating Committee (open) Nominating Committee (closed) New Attendee Reception Grand Opening Reception

3:30-4:30 p.m.

4 p.m.

Tuesday, September 28 7:30 a.m.

8 a.m.-Noon 9:45 a.m.

Monday, September 27 7:30 a.m.

CCFOA Breakfast MCMA Breakfast 8-9 a.m.

Coffee & Conversation 9 a.m.

Welcome KEYNOTE: The Hero Effect - Kevin Brown 10 a.m.

Exhibit Hall Opens 10 a.m.-4:20 p.m. AASHTO Audi Demo - TTS 10:30 a.m.

Exhibitor Showcase 11:30 a.m.

Box Lunch 1 p.m.

CONCURRENT (4) • User Centered Zoning Codes (MGI) • Build Water & Sewer Infrastructure...Now! • Simplifying Cybersecurity in Municipalities • Rights and Limitations in Managing Right of Way FLASH SESSIONS Best Practices And Updates In Employee Benefits (1 p.m.); Cut the Clutter: Digital Records Management (1:30 p.m.)

2:15 p.m.

CONCURRENT (4) • Creating A Roadmap For Communications Success (AMGI) • American Rescue Plan Funding For Municipalities (CCFOA) • Build A Momentum Mindset: How to Bounce FORWARD, Boost Resilience and Remerge Stronger and Better Than Before (MCMA) • Law Enforcement Workers' Compensation Claims

Popcorn & Prizes!

Exhibitor Prize Drawings Offsite Events

11 a.m.

12:15 p.m.

2 p.m.

3:15 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

Bacon & Business Meeting AASHTO Audi Demo - TTS CONCURRENT (4) • Budget Basics (MGI) • Building Green Communities: Current & Future Opportunities • What Does It Take To Be A Smart City?

• Show-Me Zero: Driving Missouri Toward Safer Roads CONCURRENT (4) • Community Visioning (AMGI) • LAGERS Pension: A Guide For City Leaders • Injury Management: Improving Medical Outcomes After Municipal Employee Injuries • Best Practices In Public Service: Pandemic Lessons Awards Luncheon CONCURRENT (4) • Ethics (MGI) • The Electrifying Truth: The Municipal Impacts of Vehicle Electrification • Medical Marijuana • Diversity & Inclusion Panel CONCURRENT (4) • The Five Questions For Economic Development Due Dilligence (AMGI) • Leadership And FOCUS (CCFOA) • Refinancing: Tips and Traps (GFOA) • What Is New In Census Data/Redistricting Reception Banquet

Wednesday, September 29 7:30 a.m.

8-10 a.m.

Breakfast Buffet KEYNOTE: Economic Lessons From The Greater St. Louis Experience - Jason Hall

FLASH SESSIONS How To Upgrade Facilities And Infrastructure NOW Without Increasing Your Budget (2:15 p.m.); Current State Of Recycling (2:45 p.m.) www.mocities.com

21

CONFERENCE EVENTS & HOTEL RESERVATIONS

BANQUET TICKET : $50 • Banquet Reception • Annual Banquet • Entertainment

Banquet Reception

Join us for a reception Tuesday evening prior to the Annual Banquet.

Enjoy appetizeers and an open bar while listening to light background music.

Annual Banquet

Enjoy a steak dinner and a short program recognizing the leadership of the Missouri Municipal League. Business dress.

Entertainment: Midnight Piano Band The Midnight Piano Band is all about the live, musical performance. They are a throwback to when bands actually played their instruments and sang on stage. It seems hard to believe, but a band with this level of commitment to live sound is becoming quite rare. In the Midnight Piano Band, there are no laptops, no backing tracks, no tricks and no gimmicks. What you see is what you hear, and what you hear is awesome. The band loves playing classic piano rock hits from the 70s and 80s by artists such as Elton John, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Journey and Bill Withers. The band also plays a variety of other hits that you know and love by artists like Earth Wind & Fire, Hall & Oates, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Garth Brooks, Bruno Mars, Usher and so many more.

OFFSITE MONDAY EVENT: THE LEMP MANSION Cost: $65.00 The Lemp Mansion was built in the early 1860s and was subsequently purchased by William J. Lemp as a residence and auxiliary brewery office. Although it was already an impressive structure, Lemp used his massive brewery fortune to turn the 33-room house into a Victorian showplace. Join us for a night with Jest Murder Mystery Company, the funniest in the nation. They have been around since 1999 and are skilled at ensuring audiences have a blast. They perform highly interactive shows in between the courses of the meal among audience members, who participate from their tables. With their entertaining characters, interactive show and energetic performance, they will treat you to an unforgettable night of hilarity and mystery!

The fee includes: transportation, dinner, one drink and entertainment.

HOTEL RESERVATION PROCEDURE You must complete attendee registration to obtain the hotel booking link to make hotel reservations. The link will appear in the “Thank You” message, as well as in a confirmation email, once you complete the registration process.

The discounted rate for St. Louis Union Station is $141 and cutoff date is Aug. 27, 2021. **It is recommended that you reserve your room by using the online link to ensure you get the discounted rate. ** All attendees are responsible for their own hotel arrangements and fees.

22

theReview July/August 2021

PRE-CONFERENCE

Join Us! MML Pre-Conference Session Sunday, September 26, 2021 1-3 p.m.

SEPARATE REGISTRATION REQUIRED

7+1=16: Strategies for Creating a Team That is Far Greater Than the Sum of its’ Parts presented by Ron Holifield, CEO, Strategic Government Resources Systems Theory suggests very simply that “predictable inputs create predictable outcomes.”

The same thing is true when it comes to Council-Staff Relations. This dynamic session will provide you with proven strategies that will take your team to a higher performance level, help you be more effective and more successful in serving your citizens, and even reignite your joy in serving the public.

Cost: $20

Register today at www.mocities.com!

MML Annual Conference Hashtag: #MML21 Download the MML Mobile App for Conference schedules, maps, exhibitors, sponsors, handouts and more!

Scan the QR code below or search "Missouri Municipal League" in your app store!

WWW.SGRJOBS.COM www.mocities.com

23

Thank You To The 2021 MML Business Advantage Program Sponsors Platinum Sponsors Burns & McDonnell NLC Service Line Warranty Program Missouri American Water

Gold Sponsors Lauber Municipal Law, LLC Stifel PFM Asset Management, LLC Curtis, Heinz, Garrett & O'Keefe, P.C. Raymond James Cochran Baker Tilly Piper Sandler & Co.

Silver Sponsors

24

Gilmore & Bell, P.C. MoDNR Brownfields/Voluntary Cleanup Program Municode Ollis/Akers/Arney Insurance & Business Advisors MIRMA Trane U.S. Inc. General theReview July/August 2021 Code

Missouri One Call System American Fidelity Strategic Government Resources Missouri LAGERS Schneider Electric CTS Group (a Veregy Company) IMS Technology Group Missouri Department of Conservation

FEATURE Review

by Teresa Bullock, Ashley Keely and Jackie Johnson

Regionalization And Consolidation In Missouri: Two Perspectives, One Viewpoint

Communities throughout the country often face significant challenges in providing wastewater services at a reasonable cost to users while complying with federal and state regulations. These challenges include aging infrastructure, limited technical and administrative capabilities, and increasing costs while maintaining a low user-rate base. The state of Missouri is no exception to these challenges. While many options exist to address these challenges, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (Department) finds regionalization and consolidation (R&C) effective and successful in assisting communities with drinking water and wastewater challenges.

A Wastewater Perspective Regionalization involves sharing physical infrastructure in a defined geographic area when a political or private entity provides wastewater service by means of physically connecting existing and future communities to a regional or central plant. Examples of regionalization include a sewer district connecting the flows of three, privately-owned treatment facilities to a centralized facility and a municipality

connecting several small facilities by extending a sewer line. Reduced user rates and operational costs are two of the benefits achieved when multiple entities work together.

Consolidation is the centralized ownership of multiple facilities.

Typically, this involves the sale of a small, independent facility to a specialized wastewater operating company. The clear advantage with consolidation is a decrease in costs to users – simply stated, there are more customers to share the burden of paying the bills.

Small wastewater system owners are able to relinquish the burden of costs, regulatory obligations and requirements associated with the wastewater system.

Consolidation often achieves higher levels of operating performance and rates of regulatory compliance, that not only benefits customers but the water quality in the community.

In 2019, the Department began offering the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Regionalization Incentive Grant.

This grant is available to certain municipalities in Missouri that have the capacity to accept and treat wastewater from proposed connection(s). If approved, the grant will fund 100% of

all eligible costs for the project, including planning, designing and constructing the sewer connection.

A Drinking Water Perspective The Department is also committed to ongoing efforts to promote more efficient, resilient and sustainable drinking water infrastructure across Missouri. Regionalization, consolidation and unification (RCU) can be costeffective approaches to obtaining and maintaining technical, managerial and financial capacity at public drinking water systems.

RCU may require voter approval, engineering and construction, legal documentation, and negotiation and cooperation. These partnerships can offer solutions for systems with declining populations and revenues, aging infrastructure and staffing difficulties.

The benefits are worth the effort.

D r i n k i n g w at e r s y s t e m s c a n benefit from regionalization, or the interconnection between two or more drinking water systems where one primary system provides water to the others. Each water system operates and maintains their own distribution system.

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25

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Many municipalities and regional water districts have extra capacity and may be willing to contract with a smaller system to provide drinking water. This can lead to a reduction in source water and treatment costs for the consecutive system and an increased customer base for the primary system.

When drinking water systems consolidate, a smaller system transfers its operating authority and ownership to a larger system. Examples include multiple drinking water systems combining to form a regional water district or a municipality providing service outside of its boundary. Thanks to greater accessibility to managerial and financial resources, economies of scale and enhanced flexibility, the combined system may be able to provide water to customers at a lower cost.

Un i f i c at i o n o c c u r s w h e n a n independent drinking water system transfers ownership to a larger one.

This can happen through the sale of a small drinking water system to a specialized water operating company 26

theReview July/August 2021

or public entity. There is no change to the smaller system’s distribution system, but operating under a unifying system allows them to join a larger customer base. The larger system takes on the regulatory responsibilities and the costs of operating, maintaining and improving the smaller drinking water system. The owner and customers of unified systems typically experience better compliance rates and operating performance.

Regional And Consolidation Successes Five wastewater treatment systems in Jefferson and Franklin counties were abandoned following failure to maintain and upgrade the systems, discharging sludge into receiving streams. These five facilities remained out of compliance for more than five years before being purchased by Jefferson County Sewer District in 2019.

Three wastewater treatment systems serving the Terre du Lac Subdivision in St Francois County were poorly

operated and maintained, resulting in residential complaints and social media posts of raw sewage in a nearby lake.

Failure to conduct maintenance and upgrade these systems over time resulted in noncompliance with Missouri’s Clean Water Law. Central States Water Resources, operating as Confluence Rivers Utility Operating Company, purchased these three facilities and are working to bring them back into compliance.

In Stone and B arr y counties, a d e vel opme nt c omp any b e g an construction of wastewater treatment facilities to serve four small subdivisions on the south shore of Table Rock Lake.

Unfortunately, design and construction standards where not complied with and the developer failed to obtain the necessary operating permits. Due to the 2009 economic downturn, the wastewater treatment systems lacked an appropriate operator and in 2016/17, residents began complaining about poor wastewater treatment system conditions.

In 2020, Ozark Clean Water Company

took ownership of the four facilities and will continue to bring these systems into compliance.

Ridge Creek Water Company was a private utility that owned and operated a drinking water system with 22 wells. The city of St. Robert annexed this system and is now the owner. This consolidation has ensured that there is a properly certified chief operator on site. St. Robert plans to make infrastructure improvements in the future to improve water quality and mitigate new violations.

Rogue Creek was a community water system with source water lead issues and a prolonged ownership issue.

Missouri American Water Company took over as a contract operator and eventually acquired the system. The unified system, Missouri American Rogue Creek Utilities, benefits from infrastructure improvements to both the drinking water and wastewater systems.

Missouri American Hickory Hills was a community water system that recently connected to neighboring California Public Water Supply (PWS). Thanks to this regionalization, California PWS has an increased customer base. Missouri American Hickory Hills retains their distribution system and has their well, storage and treatment system available in case of emergency.

Financial Opportunities When systems cons olidate or regionalize, they increase their financial capacity, and may be eligible to apply for financial assistance programs such as the State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans.

The DNR’s Financial Assistance Center administers both the Clean Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF. The Clean Water SRF provides low-interest loans for wastewater treatment, sewer rehabilitation and stormwater quality improvements, while the Drinking Water SRF provides low-interest loans for drinking water infrastructure projects including upgrades to existing distribution and storage facilities.

DNR also offers Engineering Report Services Grants (ESRG). Eligible systems can use this grant to explore options for regionalization, consolidation or unification. The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development has

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loan and grant programs available to community public water systems. The Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households grant helps small, financially distressed rural communities with predevelopment feasibility studies, design and technical assistance on proposed water projects.

Need More Information?

For information and resources on DNR’s regionalization and consolidation efforts for wastewater and public drinking water systems, visit https://dnr. mo.gov/env/wpp/. This webpage also includes fact sheets on regionalization and consolidation efforts, one titled “Waste water C ons olidation and Regionalization at a Glance” and

the other titled, “Drinking Water Consolidation, Regionalization, and Unification at a Glance.” Information about DNR’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund can be found at https://dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/ srf/index.html.

Teresa Bullock, Ashley Keely and Jackie Johnson serve with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Water Protection Program.

Teresa is as an environmental scientist with the Operating Permit Section; Ashley is an environmental specialist with the Operating Permit Section; and Jackie is an environmental specialist with the Public Drinking Water Compliance and Enforcement Section. Contact the Water Protection Program at (800) 361-4827 or (573) 751-1300, or visit https://dnr.mo.gov/ env/wpp/.

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27

FEATURE Review

by James T. Price

EPA Takes New Steps To Regulate PFAS The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced new steps to address PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water. These actions will collect new data on the presence of PFAS in drinking water and could lead the EPA to establish maximum contaminant levels, commonly known as MCLs, for these substances under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

PFAS are materials commonly associated with firefighting foam, nonstick coatings, water repellants, and many consumer products. Until recently they were largely unregulated, but they have been gathering significant public and regulatory scrutiny in the past few years. On Feb. 22, 2021, the EPA reproposed the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) to collect new data on PFAS in drinking water, and issued final regulatory determinations concerning perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) under the SDWA. Some of these actions will be subject to public comment and stakeholder meetings.

Proposed UCMR 5 will collect data on 29 PFAS constituents in drinking water systems between 2023 and 2025.

EPA will accept public comment on this proposal for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register and will hold two virtual stakeholder meetings at dates to be announced.

With EPA’s final determinations regarding PFOA and PFOS under what is known as the SDWA Fourth Contaminant Candidate List, EPA will be implementing the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation process to 28

theReview July/August 2021

these two chemicals. This process may lead to development of MCLs for these substances. There are currently no MCLs for PFAS chemicals. EPA has issued a health advisory guidance for PFAS, and several states have moved separately to address PFAS. These developments will affect municipalities and drinking water systems, beginning with the datag at h e r i n g r e q u i r e m e nt s , w h e n established. In time, they may affect manufacturers and others who use PFAS and similar chemicals in their processes and products. They may also affect those responsible to remediate legacy environmental sites, if PFAS standards developed for drinking

water are translated into remediation requirements (to the extent applicable).

These and other stakeholders will want to follow these regulatory actions as EPA moves forward.

Jim Price is a partner at Spencer Fane LLP in the firm's Kansas City office where he is chair of the firm's Environmental Law Practice Group.

His practice concentrates on environmental regulation and compliance, environmental litigation, toxic torts, and business transactions involving environmental issues. He has served as lead counsel for numerous environmental matters, including Superfund proceedings, RCRA corrective action, environmental transactions, and environmental permitting and compliance for solid waste, hazardous waste, water, air and other matters.

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29

FAQ: Request For Proposals (RFPs)

by Ramona Huckstep

The answers to these FAQs are intended for discussion purposes and to provide the reader with useful ideas and general guidance on the topics and issues covered. This article does not constitute legal advice and information provided may require consultation with applicable professionals to appropriately apply to specific circumstances.

Introduction Issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) can help a local government agency find new vendors, compare products, and find the best solution for their problem. It does not have to be a cumbersome process. RFP’s are a mutually beneficial process. For the municipalities, they create an atmosphere of competition where hopeful candidates can put their best feet forward to win attractive opportunities. RFPs tell invited bidders, “Our door is open, come and make your best case.” For vendors, RFP’s are a chance to look at clients and their project descriptions before any contracts are signed.

Knowing in advance what the details of a project are and what the approximate cost will be will assist the municipality in planning and being prepared for the work that is coming. Additionally, setting expectations from the beginning will help the project run more smoothly.

What Should You Include in the RFP? Although each RFP will vary according to the needs and goals of a project, most include the same categories of information:

What is an RFP? When a municipality needs an outside service provider or consultant, the RFP is a way to communicate that need. A RFP is a document that a local government creates to outline the requirements for a specific project. They use the RFP process to solicit bids from qualified vendors and identify which vendor might be the best-qualified and least expensive to complete the project. Issuing a RFP allows governments to compare various products and vendors. RFPs can be especially helpful when a government agency needs an integrated solution involving components from various suppliers.

30

theReview July/August 2021

The brief history of the municipality;

•

A detailed description of the project, including the reason it was created and the results desired;

•

Specific requirements about preferred materials, tools, systems and/or products;

•

The proposed budget;

•

The project deadline, along with clearly defined milestones and dates;

•

Questions you would like the respondents to answer or additional details you would like them to provide;

•

The submission deadline, contact information, and guidelines to submit proposals.

•

Another item to consider is asking to see the product (screenshots or demo videos), if appropriate.

What information should the bidders include in the RFP? •

Contractor/vendor history and qualifications. This should include general information about the bidder’s company, principals, and history, including state and date of incorporation.

•

Liability and safety information. This can include safetytraining programs for employees, disclosure of any local, state or federal violations, and proof of insurance.

•

Financial capacity should be noted. Items such as audited financial information current within the past 12 months should be included, such as a balance sheet, statement of operations, and bonding capacity.

•

Licenses and certifications are also good information to gather from vendors. This could consist of trade categories and information regarding the state and local licenses and license numbers held by the applicant. If there are specialized certifications or licenses that are needed to complete the project, they can be included in the bid information.

•

References that the municipality can contact. It is helpful if the vendor can supply contact information for other organizations where they have completed satisfactory work.

Why do municipalities create RFPs? The purpose is to provide specialized service providers with a specific detailed description of a project and request that they submit a proposal addressing the manner in which the project would be completed and the cost. From the responses, the local government selects the consultant based on the cost and responsiveness to the RFP. For local government agencies, RFPs help ensure transparency and shows the public they are accountable for project goals and vendor choices. Writing the RFP also forces organizations to create benchmarks they can use later to measure a project’s success. RFPs also help government agencies make more informed buying decisions by allowing them to compare many different bids. Rather than seeing only one solution, RFPs can show many different ways of approaching a problem. This can highlight solutions that are more comprehensive and sustainable.

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What does the RFP process look like?

1. Determine needs: When writing the RFP, you are essentially writing a “help wanted” ad. You should be able to communicate things about the project such as skills needed, objectives for the project, and the timeline for completion. Clearly communicating your needs will help narrow RFP applicants down to the most qualified. In this first step it is important to know your budget and address the “needs vs. wants” of the stakeholders, including the city officials and the residents of the municipality.

2. Write the RFP: Like a resume, the RFP has a format. They may change from one author to the next, but it is wise to follow a common formula, so vendors know what to expect from the document. There are many templates online that can help you correctly piece together your RFP. 3. Distribute the RFP: Distributing your RFPs is a fine art.

You want to send enough to get a decent response but not become overwhelmed with proposals. When coming up with a list of recipients, consider the realities where either not enough or too many organizations respond.

4. Evaluate Responses: This process is time-consuming but important. Your team of councilmembers or stakeholders should go through every response carefully to determine the best candidates. This step may include department heads, line staff and elected officials.

5. Make a Decision: This process will include your elected officials and may also include municipal staff who will sit down and look at all options and information presented and decide which vendor can best deliver on expectations.

Qualifications (RFQ) is needed when soliciting architectural, engineering and land-surveying services that requires a qualifications-based selection process according to Missouri Revised Statute Chapter 8.285-8.291.

Final thoughts Make sure to check your local ordinances and policies before writing the RFP and make sure your municipality is following those rules and guidelines as well as state and federal regulations. Do not forget to use resources around you when writing an RFP such as the Missouri Municipal League, your local regional planning commission and your municipal neighbors. You can even ask other municipalities from around the state about sample RFPs through the MML listservs for the finance officers and the city managers; and through the city clerk message board. Also note, the Missouri Municipal League has partnered with the Associated General Contractors of Missouri to provide free distribution of RFPs that are related to building and infrastructure, to their more than 200 members across the state who are general contractors and specialty contractors.

“Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. The things you are doing, no matter how seemingly unique, has been done before. Take advantage of, and perhaps expand upon, your predecessors work.”

— Paul Heacock (2003) Ramona Huckstep is a policy and membership associate with the Missouri Municipa League. Contact her at Rhuckstep@mocities.com or (573) 635-9134.

When is a bid required by state statute?

According to a Missouri Municipal League Fact Sheet on competitive bids requirements there are numerous instances when the state requires a competitive bid: 1) Insurance; 2) Special assessments; 3) Grants; 4) City officials selling or providing services to the city, 5) Construction management services; 6) Industrial development: projects with general obligation bonds; 7) City library (cities over 10,000) by election; 8) waterworks erection/purchase of revenue bonds; 9) Banks. (For more information on this topic, reference the Competitive Bid Requirements Fact Sheet by MML).

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What is the difference between the RFP and the RFQ? A Request for Proposal (RFP) is needed when a project is sufficiently complex, requires a great deal of technical information, solicits hard data for analysis and comparison, and thereby warrants a formal proposal from a supplier. They are best used when you really need to compare responses and vendors objectively. A Request for 32

theReview July/August 2021

816-525-7881 LauberMunicipalLaw.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.

NEWS FROM THE BENCH

by Frank J. Vatterott, Esq.

Missouri Sheriffs' Retirement Fund Surcharge Found Unconstitutional Missouri’s municipal courts will no longer be required to collect a $3 surcharge to provide retirement funds for the elected sheriffs in Missouri. The surcharge on each case was mandated by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2013, after it changed its interpretation on whether municipal courts were “civil” in nature. “Civil” cases require the collection of the surcharge. The statute requiring the surcharge has been on the books of Missouri since 1983, but until 2013, had never been interpreted to include the municipal divisions as a “civil” court in which the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund surcharge should be collected.

After the Supreme Court unexpectedly changed its interpretation in 2013 and determined that the municipal courts should collect the surcharge, municipal judges, including myself, researched and opined that a $3 surcharge, if collected by our courts, was unconstitutional as a violation of Missouri’s “Sale of Justice” clause.

On June 1, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that our position was correct, in the case of Daven Fowler, et al. v. Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System.

The case, that began in Jackson County Circuit Court, was brought by two plaintiffs who were defendants in Kansas City municipal court, who paid the surcharge and then sued that the surcharge was unconstitutional and that the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund was being unjustly enriched.

The Jackson County Circuit Court dismissed the petition first on a technical ground that the plaintiffs had failed to

join the municipal clerks as defendants.

The circuit court also ruled that the Missouri statute requiring the fee in all civil cases did not violate the “Sale of Justice” clause of the Missouri Constitution.

Article I, Section 14 of the Missouri Constitution, called the “Open Courts” or “Sale of Justice” clause, was included in the first Missouri Constitution, in 1820. At that time, most of the “Sale of Justice” language contained in the Missouri Constitution was already 600 years old, because it originated as Article 40 of Magna Carta in 1215. The Missouri Constitution says that: “[t] hat the courts of justice shall be open to every person, and certain remedy

afforded for every injury to person, property or character, and that right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.”

Article 40 of Magna Carta was included in demands made by the English barons to King John. Among other grievances, the barons objected to the way the King’s courts were operating in the 13th century. There were frequent bribes to magistrates and delays in court proceedings for favored litigants, who paid for those favors. But my research revealed that there was another, and relevant, connection of today’s Missouri courts to the barons’ complaint. King John, and his predecessor, King Richard the Lionheart, had enacted additional

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court fees to the regular amounts, in order to supply funds for the Crusades!

Since not all the barons were wealthy, some could not afford to pay these extra surcharges, that impeded their right as plaintiffs to redress in the King’s courts.

If they were the defendants, the barons were fearful that if they lost, they would be saddled with higher court costs that were not related to their court case.

Over the centuries, this principle continued to be favored in England, and in the early 19th century, the “Sale of Justice” prohibition was brought from England to the United States and is contained in 38 state constitutions.

The modern interpretation of the clause includes the constitutional requirement that costs imposed upon litigants, both plaintiffs and defendants, be “reasonably related to the expense of the administration of justice.”

A famous Missouri Supreme Court case, Harrison v. Monroe County, 716 S.W.2d 263, 267 (1986) confirms this ancient principle. In fact, the Harrison case was relied upon by the Fowler court in its recent ruling.

T h e re c an b e n o d ou bt t h at contributions to a retirement fund for an elected county official, here the sheriff, cannot be constitutionally imposed upon defendants in municipal divisions.

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In fact, they should not be imposed in any court, said the judges in Fowler.

A retirement fund for elected sheriffs has no connection whatsoever to the administration of justice of municipal courts, or even of circuit courts. The recent 6-0 decision by our Supreme Court is a clear statement that the judges understand this iconic rule.

I will always be grateful to the Missouri Municipal League, which, at my request, filed suit to find the surcharge unconstitutional, in 2013.

The statute requiring the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund surcharge had been in effect since the early 1980’s. But it had never been interpreted to include municipal divisions. The sudden reversal of opinion by the Office of State Court Administrators (OSCA), the administrative arm of the Supreme Court, based upon two Attorney General opinions by Attorney General Koster that OSCA had previously rejected, led me and others to serious speculation that OSCA’s astonishing reversal of opinion was not based upon the Missouri Constitution or any statute, but was a political decision.

The fact is there had not been any new appellate case, nor changes to the statute, since the latest version of the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund Statute was

passed in the mid-1980s. Yet, in 2013 our Supreme Court ordered its more than 500 municipal divisions to start collecting the surcharge on every case, including parking tickets. The clerk of the Supreme Court first demanded that even the St. Louis County municipal divisions, over 80 at the time, collect the surcharge, but finally conceded, after I and others strongly objected, that those courts did not have to collect the fee, since the St. Louis County sheriff had never been a participant in the Sheriff ’s Retirement Fund.

About 60 municipal courts in counties outside of St. Louis County and City, signed a template order I prepared refusing to collect the fee. Those judges’ decisions have been in place since 2013, although due to Supreme Court mandatory operating systems, some courts were forced to collect the fee although the judge had ruled that the ordinance from the city requiring payment was unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, the first lawsuit, the one that the MML sponsored, was lost in the Kansas City Court of Appeals on technical grounds – lack of standing. But the Court of Appeals decision contained curious language that suggested future litigants could challenge the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund statute’s constitutionality as a violation of the “Sale of Justice” clause if the lawsuit was brought under a different theory.

Thereafter, the Fowler case was filed by class action lawyers in Kansas City using that different theory. I was honored to assist them with my large file of research into the constitutional and legal issues.

The class action lawyers tried it in Jackson County, lost at that level, and filed an appeal. They were the winning law firms. They deserve much credit, appealing to the Supreme Court after the case was lost in the Jackson County Circuit Court.

In its landmark ruling on June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court completely reversed the Jackson County court ruling. It found that clerks were not necessary parties to the suit. But much more importantly, the Supreme Court opined the Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund statute requiring the $3 surcharge violated the “Sale of Justice” clause of the Constitution.

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Since the ruling on June 1, OSCA has been preparing to change its costs cards and computer systems to eliminate the circuit and municipal divisions’ requirement to collect the surcharge.

Obviously, this is an arduous task.

OSCA’s counsel told me that a number of presiding judges and municipal judges have chosen not to wait until the computer systems are updated (which courts rely upon for the collection and assessment of court costs,) and have already entered administrative orders that municipal divisions should no longer collect the fee, as of June 1.

The Fowler case has been remanded to the Circuit Court of Jackson County where there will be hearings on whether

there should be certification for a class action. It remains to be seen if the defendants who paid the fee, including those in municipal courts, will have the surcharge reimbursed to them by the Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement Fund.

The decision also raises a question on the continued viability of other court surcharges that municipal court defendants must pay, even on routine non-moving charges. These include crime victims’ compensation, peace officers state training, law enforcement training fund, and domestic violence shelters. While these funds are laudable for the assistance they provide, they remain suspect in that they do not relate to the cost of administration of

the courts in which they were collected.

Undoubtedly, there will be challenges to the constitutionality of these fees, that remain paid now by Missouri municipal and circuit court defendants.

This case is an affirmation that a basic tenet embodied in Magna Carta, as continued in the Constitution of our State for the last 200 years, is alive and well in 2021. People should not have to pay unrelated court fees when filing a suit or when hauled into court on routine traffic and other charges. It should serve as a warning to politicians that passing laws requiring litigants in court to pay unrelated fees to legislators’ favored beneficiaries will not withstand constitutional challenge.

Frank J. Vatterott is president of Vatterott Harris, P.C., in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

He has concentrated his law practice in real estate, business and municipal law, including serving as a city attorney for several MML members. Mr. Vatterott sat as a municipal judge for more than 38 years, chiefly in St. Ann and Overland. He served as president of the Missouri Municipal and Associate Judges Association in 1993 and again in 1997. Judge Vatterott received the Missouri Supreme Court’s highest award, for "improving trust and confidence" in the Missouri judiciary, for his work in leading reforms in municipal courts during the challenges known as "Ferguson." He is the only city judge ever to receive the award.

Mr. Vatterott is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and St. Louis University Law School. Judge Vatterott and his wife Lucy will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the fall of 2021. They have five children and nine grandchildren, with two more grandchildren on the way!

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theReview July/August 2021

LOCAL GOVERNMENT Review

by Ramona Huckstep

On The Road Again MML Returns to Regional Meetings and Member Visits The Missouri Municipal League is officially back on the road cohosting regional meetings around the state and visiting with member cities. MML staff just finished up a month-long tour of statewide visits in June, with more planned in July. We are so appreciative of the cities of Rolla, Desloge, Wildwood, Cameron and Memphis for cohosting the regional meetings with us! Our topic for each regional meeting was “2021 Legislative Session: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” MML’s Interim Executive Director Richard Sheets discussed more than 25 pieces of legislation directly impacting Missouri cities that passed, did not pass and what may still need work in future sessions.

After staff was sidelined for more than a year, it was wonderful to get out and see our beautiful state and so many amazing cities. Clearly, the pandemic did not slow you down, and it was impressive to hear about the many unique projects happening in so many cities!

As I traveled, I saw small city halls, city halls that used to be banks, city halls that are historic sites and city halls that are cities unto themselves. As the song, “Life is A Highway” played in my rental vehicle, I found myself not only on highways, but gravel roads and even a dirt road with corn on both sides of me.

I cannot wait until we can be back on the road in the fall, with a new set of topics and new locations in your region. In the meantime, we hope to see you at our Annual Conference. We would love to meet you in St. Louis Sept. 26-29 at Union Station!

Ramona Huckstep is a policy and membership associate with the Missouri Municipal League.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT Review

2021 Elected Officials Training Conference It was wonderful to welcome so many newly elected officials to the MML 2021 Elected Officials Training Conference in June! This event is held each year shortly after spring municipal elections in order to share the nuts and bolts of the most important issues local government officials face in their service. It is ideal for new officials, but also provides a valuable refresher for more experienced officials. This year was a record attendance, with more than 200 attending in person, and nearly 80 attending viruatlly. Attendees learned about conducting city business, the Missouri Sunshine Law, revenue sources, creative communications and much more. Mark your calendars to join us in Columbia, Missouri, and be a part of this special event in June 2022!

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theReview July/August 2021

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MEMBERS' News Richard R. Noll Winner: Collin Quigley

(l-r) Collin Quigley, deputy city manager, Springfield; MCMA Immediate Past President Roger Haynes, deputy city manager, Mexico.

Collin Quigley, deputy city manager for the city of Springfield, was chosen as the 2021 Richard R. Noll Outstanding Assistant Award by the Missouri City/ County Management Association (MCMA).

The recipient must hold an administrative position that is responsible for assisting the chief administrative officer in carrying out various administrative duties and other responsibilities.

Quigley joined the city of Springfield as the assistant city manager in August 2007 and has served as the deputy city manager for the last two years. He is responsible for providing direction to and supervision of the police department, fire department, municipal court, finance department and health department.

Quigley is a Springfield native who is a credentialed city manager (ICMACM) with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and a prior board member of the Missouri City Management Association (MCMA).

Prior to joining Springfield as the assistant city manager, Quigley served as the city administrator of Ozark, Missouri, and Kimberling City, Missouri.

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Jay T. Bell Winner: David Gipson David Gipson, city manager for the city of Clayton, was chosen as the 2021 Jay T. Bell Professional Management Award by the Missouri City/County Management Association (MCMA).

The award recognizes his outstanding commitment to the profession of local government management and is the association’s highest honor for members.

(l-r) MCMA Immediate Past President Roger Haynes, deputy city manager, Mexico; David Gipson, city manager, Clayton; MCMA President Ben DeClue, city administrator, Glendale.

MCMA established the Jay T. Bell Professional Management Award in honor of Jay T. Bell, who served as executive director of the Missouri Municipal League from 1965 until 1981. The award recognizes public service that displays the same high standards of accomplishment, professionalism and ethical conduct.

Gipson has served as the city manager since February 2020, beginning his position as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold in Missouri. Gipson led the city of Clayton through the many challenges and difficult decisions cities faced over the past year. During this time, the City continued to be successful and has received award recognition, including Spire’s Silver Shovel Award and a 2020 Green City Challenge Award.

Governor Parson Signs SB 153, Internet Tax Revenue Passage of Wayfair Legislation Removes Unfair Advantage Over Missouri Local Businesses The Missouri Municipal League (MML) applauds the signing in July by Governor Parson of Missouri’s SB 153, regarding the capturing of internet tax revenue from out-of-state sellers.

Known as the Wayfair legislation, SB 153 allows cities and businesses in their community to level the playing field with out-of-state vendors by closing the loophole where businesses outside of Missouri were avoiding local state use taxes.

"This is a big win for Missouri cities, their residents and local businesses," said Chuck Caverly, council member for the city of Maryland Heights and MML president. "The unfair advantage out-of-state vendors had is now fixed. They will simply pay the same

level of taxes that our local businesses have been paying for decades, and that money goes directly to critical services such as first responders, street repair, park maintenance and so much more."

Back Row, l-r: Chuck Pearce, Missouri Society of CPAs;

Ross Lien, Missouri Chamber of Commerce; Rep. Jeff MML thanks Senator Porter (R-42), Ray McCarty, Associated Industries of Andrew Koenig (RMissouri; Rep. Justin Hill, (R-108) ; Pat Kelly, Municipal 15), Representative J. League of Metro St. Louis; Daniel Wilhelm, Sen. Koenig's office; Front Row, l-r: Rep. Patricia Pike, (R-126) ; Rep. Eggleston (R-2), Senator Bill Falkner, (R-10); Rep. J. Eggleston, (R-2); Sen. Andrew Sandy Crawford (R-28), Koenig, (R-15); Shanon Hawk, Armstrong Teasdale; Representative Bill Falkner Richard Sheets, Missouri Municipal League. Seated: Gov. Mike Parson.

(R-10) and Representative Jeff Porter (R-42) for their of protecting our brick-and-mortar tireless work to craft this businesses and our communities.” important bill. MML also thanks city officials for their diligence in bringing Under the provisions, municipalities this issue before their legislators and still need to have a use tax approved community.­­ by local voters for the tax to be collected in their community.

“When we share a common goal we Another helpful piece of SB 153 is a can accomplish great things,” said simplification of ballot language for Caverly. “This is a perfect example local use tax propositions.

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MEMBERS' Notes MML Calendar of Events July 2021 20 ����� MML Southwest Regional Meeting, Mount Vernon, Missouri 22 ����� MML West Gate Regional Meeting 23-25 ����� MMAA Summer Seminar, Osage Beach, Missouri 28-30 ����� Missouri Main Street Downtown Revitalization Conference (Virtual)

August 2021 29-Sept. 1 � 2021 American Public Works Association Conference, St. Louis, Missouri

September 2021 6 ����� Labor Day (MML Office Closed) 15 ����� Financial Disclosure Ordinance Deadline 21-23 ����� National Park and Recreation Association Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee 26-29 ����� MML 87th Annual Conference, St. Louis Union Station 29-Oct. 1 ��� Missouri Water/Wastewater Annual Conference, Jefferson City, Missouri

October 2021 3-6 ����� ICMA Conference, Columbus, Ohio 6-8 ����� MPUA Annual Conference, Osage Beach, Missouri 27-29 ����� MCMA Annual Conference, Lake Ozark, Missouri Find more events and details on www.mocities.com and in the MML monthly e-newsletter.

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theReview July/August 2021

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