Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 14, 2006 CAIRO MAYOR WINS A ROUND

Council vows to continue fight.

From the Southeast Missourian...

Judge- Mayor of Cairo has veto

RUDI KELLER ~ Southeast Missourian

A councilman said the ruling won't weaken the opposition to Paul Farris.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mayor Paul Farris on Wednesday won an important round in his battle with the Cairo City Council when a state circuit judge ruled he has the power to veto council actions.

In his order, Circuit Judge Brad Bleyer of Marion, Ill., also ruled that a 1980 federal court order changed the laws governing Cairo, moving it from a commission form of government to an aldermanic government.

The ruling is a major, but not final, victory for Farris in his ongoing feud with the council. Farris and a majority of council members have been fighting since before he took office in May 2003.

"Now that this decision has come down from the courts, I feel very confident that we can move forward and perform the duties we were elected to perform," Farris said.

The ruling came in a lawsuit demanding that city attorneys who have worked under Farris return the money they have been paid in excess of the amounts appropriated by the council. The council sets aside $10,000 to $12,000 a year for the city's attorney, but lawyers hired by Farris have been paid at the rate of as much as $106,000 annually.

Bleyer's order did not address that issue.

Although the order did not end the lawsuit, it settles an important issue, city attorney Patrick Cox said. "The citizens of Cairo deserve to know what form of government they are governed by."

Cox predicted that the council members who filed the lawsuit will appeal to the Illinois Court of Appeals. But the order will stand unless overturned, he said, giving needed guidance to both the mayor and council.

"There just has been too much confusion," Cox said.

Councilman Bobby Whitaker said the ruling won't weaken the council's opposition to Farris. He noted that the same law that gives Farris veto power also gives council members the power to override vetoes by a two-thirds vote.

Council members have not attempted to override any veto in order to preserve their legal argument that Farris did not possess veto power.

The state court ruling is an interpretation of a federal court decree, Whitaker noted. Only a federal court has the final power to issue a binding opinion, he said.

"If it becomes necessary, we will do whatever we have to do," Whitaker said. "We may have to appeal to federal court. I am sure that is where it is going to end up."

On several occasions, Farris has refused to recognize motions from council members seeking to take action on items not listed on their agenda. On Wednesday, he said he accepts that council members have the power to override his vetoes.

Recent city council meetings have been cut short by a lack of attendance by council members. "I would be very optimistic they would come back to the council chambers and perform the duties they were elected to perform, put aside any personal differences and any disagreements," Farris said.

Councilwoman Linda Jackson, who has been attending the meetings, said she's glad the court issued a ruling, although she doesn't agree with it.

She added she expects the court will recognize that state law, regardless which the form of government the city has, does not allow Farris to spend beyond the amounts set aside by the council.

"I am sure that in the coming weeks the court will rule that they have exceeded their authority and be made to repay these unapproved expenditures," she said.

The court order addressed the effect of the 1980 federal court ruling that changed the way council members are elected. The ruling, a negotiated settlement called a consent decree, ended a civil rights lawsuit over the lack of black representation on the council.

Cairo voters adopted a commission form of government in 1913. Under a commission government, all council members are elected by a vote of the entire city. That effectively blocked black candidates from winning a seat.

Under an aldermanic form of government, council members are elected as representatives of wards. After the consent decree, blacks started winning council seats and today hold three of the six slots on the council.

In a city governed by the laws covering a commission form of government, council members are nearly equal partners with the mayor in administering the city. In a city with an aldermanic government, council members have legislative power but no administrative authority.

Prior to Farris taking over as mayor, the issue of whether the consent decree changed the form of government was not an issue.

"I am prepared to move on," Farris said. "We have a bright future ahead of us, and there is no need to continuously dwell upon the past."