Ozark voters reject charter for city

Voters have determined that Ozark will not become a charter city.

According to unofficial results from the Christian County clerk’s office, 55.5% of voters opposed the measure to allow self-governance with an unofficial vote count of 1,121-899. The city’s population is just shy of 24,000.

Before the election, Ozark Mayor Don Currence told Springfield Business Journal that the city is limited in what it can do because it is governed by state statutes, whereas neighboring cities, including Springfield, Nixa and Republic, are charter cities with more local control.

Currence offered ideas of changes the city could have made with charter approval, like moving from a board of aldermen to a city council-run government and giving the mayor a vote on it and moving to a city manager – an independent chief executive for the city – instead of a city administrator.

“It really is about local control versus 100% state control,” Currence told SBJ in a February interview.

Without a charter in place, the city is guided by state statutes, which Ozark residents do not have direct control over, according to Currence. He said that model works for smaller cities, but a growing city like Ozark needs the responsiveness of a local charter to meet its own unique needs.

Although there was not an organized opposition group for the charter drive, comments from community members on social media highlighted some of the concerns that led to rejection of the ballot item.

Individuals cited trepidation about more regulations and oversight and an appreciation for the city’s current structure.

Some criticism of neighboring cities also entered the argument, with a poster asking if residents want to be like Nixa and Springfield, which have charters.

Other social media posts pointed to confusion, with resident Ron McDonald responding to an Oct. 21, 2025, city of Ozark post on the charter by asking, “WTF is a charter commission?” and, upon hearing the response – allowing a community update its government to better reflect its current needs and values – asking, “Isn’t that what a city council is supposed to do?”

In preparation for possible approval of the charter city measure, voters also weighed in on 11 possible members of a charter commission that will not now convene. Vote counts for the candidates ranged from 574 to 702.