Section 2.8 General Qualifications of Municipal Office—A Framework (Citizenship, Residency, and Age)

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

A. (§2.8) General Qualifications of Municipal Office—A Framework (Citizenship, Residency, and Age)

In determining the basic requirements for holding municipal office, counsel should refer to the following authorities:

· Article VII, § 8, of the Missouri Constitution

· Statutes

· City charters

· Local ordinances

The Missouri Constitution sets forth basic residency and citizenship requirements for municipal office, mandating that municipal officers be both U.S. citizens and Missouri residents. Mo. Const. art. VII, § 8. Residency must be established over a period of one year preceding election or appointment. Id. Any charter or municipal ordinance implying that these mandates do not need to be adhered to is necessarily void as unconstitutional. See Kirby v. Nolte, 164 S.W.2d 1, 7 (Mo. banc 1942) (quoting St. Louis City Charter art. XVIII, § 8) (to the extent that a charter provision stating that a municipal officer “‘need not be at the time of examination or appointment, a resident of the City of St. Louis’” also suggested that the officer does not need to be a Missouri resident, such provision would be unconstitutional).

No person shall be elected or appointed to any civil or military office in this state who is not a citizen of the United States, and who shall not have resided in this state one year next preceding his election or appointment, except that the residence in this state shall not be

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