Unlike the freeholder effort, the county’s charter commission would not immediately have any bearing on city residents. But the city could have a stake in any effort to change the county charter, if the city reentered the county.

The first charter commission hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the county council chambers in Clayton.

Here is what you need to know about each effort.

Freeholders

The freeholder effort rose from the ashes of a failed attempt by the nonprofit advocacy group Better Together to put the merger question to a statewide vote. The plan would have merged the governments of St. Louis city and county and all 88 county municipalities. And it would have installed Stenger as the first “metro mayor.”

Public officials across the St. Louis area railed against any plan that took the decision out of the hands of city and county voters. When news broke in March that federal prosecutors were investigating Stenger, Better Together yanked him from the proposal. Better Together pulled their beleaguered consolidation proposal from ballot consideration in May.