Ghost law walking: Branson seeks to align City Code with thirty years of amnesia

A significant change is unfolding in Branson City Hall, where alderpersons are concerned about how department directors are hired. Alderman Williams and Alderwoman Denham have requested an amendment to Section 2–136 of the Branson Municipal Code so that it reads the way the city has enforced it for at least the past 30 years.

The proposed ordinance, which alters rules about officers and employees and has been the case for more than 30 years, would ratify the city administrator’s authority to hire directors of the various city departments.

Currently, the law contains a strict rule. When a department director vacancy occurs, the city administrator must submit recommended names to the mayor and the board of aldermen. These elected officials then vote on whether to approve or disapprove the recommendation. Under the proposed amendment, that sentence is erased.

The section being modified has been in the Branson Municipal Code for over 30 years, but it has never actually been enforced. In fact, during the ordinance’s discussion, no one could recall a single instance when the Board voted on a director recommendation under this rule. It was a forgotten law until an alderman recently discovered it, sparking the current ordinance.

The goal of this shift is straightforward. The sponsors want to modify the code to reflect how the city has conducted business for the last 30 years. It is a correction of paper, not of practice.

But the proposed change also shifts the balance of municipal power. It represents a pivot toward administrative efficiency, but it also signals a quiet retreat from direct political oversight.

This tension split the board of aldermen down the middle during the bill’s first reading. Aldermen Harkness, Lucas and Schulz voted against the change—seeking to keep the oversight rule on the books. Alderwomen Williams, Denham and Cooper voted for the change, wanting to sync the law with decades of actual city practice. The split vote forced Mayor Larry D. Milton to break the tie, casting the deciding vote to advance the measure. 

This was just the first reading of the bill. It will not become final unless it passes its second reading at the Board’s next meeting on September 8, 2026.