By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – A committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is considering a bill that would create a ballot measure giving city residents the option of keeping their current system of city government.
The group Advance St. Louis is collecting signatures to place several proposed changes to the city charter on the November ballot.
Those changes include appointing some elected officials and reducing the Board of Aldermen.
But alderman Tom Bauer is backing a countermeasure that would let voters maintain the status quo.
Bauer says Advance St. Louis misinformed its stakeholders.
"What occurred is there was a plan in place when the process began," Bauer said. "They went through a process, it was a sham process, and at the end of the day, they got the vote they wanted."
Advance St. Louis stakeholder Kay Gabbert says Bauer is trying to derail their efforts by trying to put his proposal alongside theirs.
"Its clear intent is to cause confusion, and it's redundant," Gabbert said. "All they have to do is vote no. The intent of this is not to let anything change, to protect the status quo, because that's what these people are comfortable with."
The full board of aldermen is expected to take up the bill later this month.