The City Council has adopted ordinances specifically relating to advisory boards and commissions. All applicants and members are subject to the following Code regulations:
  

• No member of the City Council, the mayor, any City employee, nor any appointed City official shall serve on any board or commission except as an ex officio member.
• No member of the immediate family of a council person may serve on a board or commission.
• No member of the immediate family of a City employee may serve on a board or commission in which the employee is directly employed by the department involved.
• "Immediate family" is defined as spouse, child, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law, and shall also include step-relatives of the same degree.
• Every member of a board or commission must be a resident of the City of Cape Girardeau, unless otherwise specifically allowed for a board. If a board member moves from City residence, he or she will automatically forfeit his or her position on that board.

• Each member of a City board or commission shall serve at the pleasure of the City council and may be removed at any time and for any reason by a majority vote of the City Council.
• No person may serve more than three consecutive full terms on the same board or commission, beginning with terms that commenced on or after January 6, 1996. This does not apply if the City Council makes a finding that special expertise is required and there are no other qualified applicants. The term limitations do not apply to alternate members.
• All persons desiring appointment to a particular board or commission must submit an application form before the proposed appointment is submitted to the City Council for consideration.
• After a person has served three consecutive full terms on the same board or commission, that person may be reappointed to that board or commission after the expiration of one full calendar year from the conclusion of those three terms.

• No person may serve on more than one City board or commission at any one time.

• If any board or commission member misses three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, or four regularly scheduled meetings in any 12 continuous months, their position shall be deemed vacant and a replacement will be named. No allowances will be made for any excuses.
• A written notice by the mayor will be given to each member when two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings or three regularly scheduled meetings in any 12 continuous months have been missed .