JEFFERSON CITY — Lawyers for the city of St. Louis and city Treasurer Tishaura Jones tangled at the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday over how much control the treasurer should have over the roughly $18 million in parking meter revenue the city generates each year.

At issue are state statutes creating the St. Louis Parking Commission, which task the treasurer with supervising the commission's operation. A St. Louis judge in April 2018 and again in October ruled the statutes were unconstitutional.

An article in the constitution bars laws that determine the functions of offices in cities with their own charters.

Lawyers for Jones and the state, defending its statutes, said the city did not have standing to sue and that the state can confer powers on county officials. Jones' attorneys argued the treasurer's office is a county office.

The city of St. Louis is independent of any county, meaning it operates as a unique "city not within a county" under state statutes.