Better Together is Wrong for Missouri

Reading Time: 8 min 7 sec | By Tom Barry

“What’s the matter with St. Louis?”

St. Louis from Illinois | Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Louis_night_expblend.jpg

After seeing St. Louis continue to struggle with strategic vision, in 1899 William Marion Reedy, the Editor, and Chief of the St. Louis based Mirror Newspaper asked a public question:

“What’s the Matter with St. Louis?”

In his essay, Reedy suggests a lack of strategic vision of the current St. Louis “elite” establishing that local leadership has “too much matter, too little mind.” He also saw a brand problem. St. Louis wasn’t being mentioned in the national newspapers often enough and when it was – it was almost always negative. To fix this, Reedy fought to secure an idea so big that the world would have to pay attention.

In 1904, he got it – and today we know it as the St. Louis World’s Fair.

Alas, fame and acclaim did not last. So, as we prepare to address the question of whether or not to reunite St. Louis City and County, we are still left with the question:

“What’s the matter with St. Louis?”

1904 World Fair | Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louisiana
_Purchase_Exposition_St._Louis_1904.jpg

The Current Proposal to Reunite the City and County is Deeply Flawed

As a lifelong St. Louis resident, I have always believed in the reunification of the city into the county. None of us introduce ourselves to the rest of the world as residents of either; but rather, residents of “St. Louis.” We share the same identity and aspiration at our core - we are all invested in this place because we know the truth about St. Louis. It’s a pretty fantastic place to live, raise children, and grow business.

Yet, the current proposal presented to the community by the Better Together organization is fundamentally flawed and fails to address the concerns of city or county residents. All while creating new problems we don’t need. The proposal does nothing to enhance the strengths of St. Louis city or county and seeks to undermine our political leadership while proposing a long period of change and disruption of city and county services. The proposal shifts wealth without an adequate answer to the foundational inequalities in income that have added to our separation-mindset.

While I agree that we must seek a solution to rejoin the city into the county, this proposal can’t be it.

Too Much Matter, Too Little Mind

Today, I believe the civil split in St. Louis is due to a fundamental inability to embrace and acknowledge that, as city and county residents, we are all in this together. Conversations around the city joining the county are often greeted with gasps of horror from residents on both sides of the invisible line. Currently, a targeted Facebook campaign “Stop the City-County Merger” has 2,894 members, with most posting the same comment in a myriad of different forms.

One writes:

“Irresistible ATM - the county accounts for 40% of the state's revenue… Chesterfield accounts for 55% of the counties revenue. If I am the city how could I resist siphoning money from a cash cow?”

History Repeating Itself

This type of thinking is the very thing that impacted the city then and the county today and as a result the St. Louis psyche as a whole. Instilled fear of taxes (or paying for those other than ourselves) lead to decisions that ultimately hurt all of us.

And it’s not a new phenomenon.

The Great Divorce is without question one of the most unfortunate decisions in Missouri’s history. The Missouri Constitution authorized the creation of a “scheme and charter” to split the city and county into two governments. The “scheme” creating separation and the “charter” creating a St. Louis City government passed with a slim margin in the city, but saw a huge defeat in the county. Those who supported the split immediately cried fraud and called for an investigative commission who arbitrarily invalidated votes by the hundreds, ultimately declaring both had passed.

In 1876, the city did not want to pay taxes that benefited the rural county – fast-forward 144 years and the county does not want to pay taxes that benefit the city.

Better Together

Today, the St. Louis community is home to a booming arts and cultural scene, emerging global technology, and growing bioengineering and health care industries. It’s also one of the most affordable places to live in the nation.

While I applaud the citizens of our community who have taken the action they believe will correct the mistake our forefathers made with the Great Divorce, I cannot in good conscience support the significantly flawed Better Together proposal. It is not right for our state, communities, or citizens.

The proposed plan would:

Reallocate municipal sales tax (Page: 33 – Appendix A: Page: 3 – Appendix E)
Exile 600+ duly elected municipal leaders and eliminate 1,000s if not 10,000s of municipal jobs (Page: 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35 – Appendix A: Page: 9, 23 – Appendix F)
Eliminate municipal police departments and courts (Page: 9, 10, 11, 30, 31 – Appendix A: Page: 3, 9 – Appendix D) (Other)
Erode municipal zoning and ordinance authority (Page: 29 – Appendix A: Page: 9)
Create uncertainty surrounding independent school systems (hypotheses – see research below)

Essentially, the current plan is made up of the following:

Reallocated Sales Tax

Sales tax, the largest revenue source to most if-not-all municipalities would be redistributed to the proposed “Metro City,” while municipal governments like Town and Country would have the ability to levy a sales tax for limited purposes, it would only be possible if approved by the “Metro City.”

If the Better Together proposal became law, municipalities would be sending nearly all tax revenue collected to the “Metro City” with the hope that it would provide the same quality of services to municipalities. No evidence has been presented to indicate that individual municipalities would still enjoy the same services.

Employee Liquidation

Our duly elected officials including mayors, alderman, council members, police chiefs, along with appointed heads of municipal economic development, and public works, city administrators and city attorneys will lose their jobs.

These officials are human beings who work diligently to create safe, happy, and healthy communities for us to live, work, and play in. It is baffling to me that anyone would consider this a good idea. This portion of the proposal comes across more like an attempted Coup d'état than a plan to better our overall community.

Eliminate Municipal Police Departments and Courts

Our municipal police officers are at the heart of our communities. Consider Vinita Park, whose mayor is, rightly, concerned that the proposal will destroy all the work they have done for years creating more effective policing.

Vinita Park’ police department in partnership with seven neighboring departments consolidated into one to serve their constituents in a more cost-effective and meaningful way. This is a perfect example of local municipalities governing themselves towards efficiency and fiscal responsibility and which would never be possible under the Better Together proposal – a proposal that could eliminate these cost savings while residents see an uptick in crime and response times.

Removal of Municipal Power

Municipal governments would no longer be able to regulate their planning and zoning issues. Cities like Eureka, whose city attorney has worked diligently and successfully in court to prevent a mineral company from mining in the community, would only be empowered with the ability to make non-binding recommendations on zoning. Municipality regulations would be ultimately forgone.

City Museum | Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk

/6781062014

School System Uncertainty

One of the city/county merges argued as most similar to the Better Together proposal and featured throughout the Better Together plan highlights the nearly 50-year-old (1970) Indianapolis City and Marion County merger. “To ensure the merger would pass, politicians allowed existing school districts to retain their autonomy and not consolidate into one school district for the city of Indianapolis.” What the Better Together plan omits or brushes over is a 1971 ruling by Federal Judge S. Hugh Dillin citing that the merger, by not consolidating into one school district, violated Brown vs. The Board of Education, and ordered that all city students be required to bus to school districts in suburban Indianapolis.

What is to prevent a Federal Judge from consolidating the 24 metropolitan St. Louis school districts - citing teacher quality, or socioeconomic inequality? Should children be forced to ride a bus for hours each day from downtown St. Louis to Wildwood, or Webster to Chesterfield, or Florissant to Affton – the risk is too significant in my option.

Onward

Air Force One Departing Lambert | Source: https://www.scott.af.mil/News

/Article-Display/Article/1390414/scott-airmen-savor-contributions-

to-president-trumps-visit-to-missouri/

I have heard it recommended that the county should buy St. Louis Lambert International Airport from the city. If this is even possible, it begs the question: does that revenue allow for the city to pay off their debt, repair bridges, or ensure pensions? If so, fine, I am all for it; the county has strong financial management and will easily recoup its investment over time. However, if it is not possible, wise, or fiscally efficient, the city must take action to correct its books, if only to be a fiscally responsible community partner, and ultimately welcomed to the county.

True, St. Louis City is not what it once was; however, greater St. Louis is still a world-class community. We, the citizens of the city and county must stop looking at ourselves as separate, but instead as a whole. Having St. Louis City join the county, as its own municipality government, would do much. Our community would no longer be referred to in national news headlines as 2nd in violent crimes, 1st in gonorrhea, 3rd in chlamydia, 5th in HIV or 16th in cases of Syphilis infections to name only a few negative placements. (Additional Public Health Findings)

I, however, cannot support the Better Together plan at the cost of local municipal control – after all, isn’t local control the true foundation of America.

What is the Matter with St. Louis?

Just one thing in my option. The fact that St. Louis City is not a part of the county - we do not travel for work or vacation and when asked where we are from, say Clayton, Normandy or Oakville. I do not even believe people from Arnold (Jefferson County), St. Peters (St. Charles County), Pacific (Franklin County) or for that matter, Bellville Illinois residents, say something different - we say we are from St. Louis. The city getting its house in order, while municipal governments in the county maintaining local control, would benefit and create a stronger and greater community. St. Louis could have increased shared transportation infrastructure, economic development resources, new sports teams and most important of all, comradery.

I will continue to support the city joining the county as its own municipal government because I don’t see the invisible line that divides the city from the county as a thing we need a passport to cross but as a thing that must be erased. However, and I know by this point, I must sound like a broken record, I will not support the Better Together plan, because nothing is worth the cost of our local municipalities or our democracy. Because the people of both St. Louis City and County deserve better than a proposal that erodes local control over policing and courts, planning, and zoning, reallocates sales tax or eliminates peoples jobs all while exiling duly elected officials.

It’s wrong for Missouri.

And, although finding the right solution to reunite the City as an independent municipal government and County of St. Louis remains important to me, we cannot and should not approve this fundamentally flawed plan.

Disclaimer:

These thoughts, comments, beliefs represent only my own concerns for the Better Together proposal. I have been an advocate for the city joining the county for a decade. I do not have children. I am a fiscal conservative and a social progressive. I am a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Eureka. I grew up in Ballwin, Missouri. I lived in St. Louis City for 8 years, and am now a proud resident of Eureka in St. Louis County.

Additional Research, Background, Options, and Information:

Better Together withdraws its petition to merge St. Louis city and county, says will refile on Monday By David Hunn

Chesterfield officials urge residents opposed to a statewide merger vote to circulate petitions By Mary Shapiro

Better Together Is Using Magic Numbers to Force a Merger. How Stupid Do They Think We Are? By Ray Hartmann

Why change the Missouri Constitution to unify St. Louis? By Michael A. Wolff

Public Finance Study | All of Better Together’ Public Research <- note public

Eureka residents battle gravel and sand mining proposal By Andy Banker

CEOs promise 'energy and resources' for St. Louis city-county merger By David Hunn <- scary

St. Louis County mayors plan to propose their own city-county reorganization By David Hunn

Florissant mayor blasts Better Together merger plan By Florissant Mayor Thomas Schneider <- simply amazing…

Better Together plans for lawsuits; Chesterfield considers seceding from St. Louis County By David Hunn

Curious Louis Answers: Your Questions About Better Together’ St. Louis City-County Merger Plan By Chad Davis