Recently the Rep Ian Mackey has chosen to bring back the exact same amendment from 2020 that would merge the City of St Louis with the County of St Louis by a vote of the entire state vs just the residents of the city and county. He intends to again take this to a statewide vote.

Since this argument was already written to this exact amendment, I am simply applying the same facts from 2020, but of course new names would replace the legislators.

Stenger = Page and Krewson = Jones

Then of course you would need to add additional debt details of the city and county after a 5-year reprieve of them trying to take the municipal taxes to pay off their failures.

The county in these 5 years have gone from being in the black to $40,000,000 in the red. The city was already in the red, so God only knows how far in debt now.

Please read facts below and apply above info to today.

Rep Mackey accuses the municipal governments of being power hungry as to why we do not want to merge...

Let the facts speak for themselves.

Why our answer to the Better Together Constitutional Amendment Proposal is NO!

To whom it may concern:

I ask that you vote No on a Constitutional Amendment for November 2020, proposed by Better Together (a non-profit group, sponsored by Billionaire Rex Sinquefield, whose members for the most part, are not from the St Louis Area).

Taking out the emotional factors of this proposal, i.e.; said fragmentation being the cause of St Louis City’s failed Economic Development, its Crime/Murder rate, it’s failing Infrastructure, the fact that 40% of their land is not taxable cause its tied to nontaxable entities like hospitals, colleges, government buildings, charities, shelters, schools. The fact that their leadership has given away much of their remaining tax opportunities through TIF’s (the City of St Louis has just over 150 Tiff’s within its boundaries).

Let’s look at the proposal for what it says/means itself.

The proposal eliminates the entire Article 6, Sections 30-32, and replaces it. Which means the method devised by our ancestors - the Board of Freeholders, (which is meant to solve/merge these types of issues) will be eliminated from the Mo. Constitution and could never be used again.

As a matter of fact, the proposal states that any changes to the new “Metro City” Charter, (which is developed by 2 people-Stenger and Krewson) can only be changed by a 2/3 vote of the Metro City Council.

The Metro City Council is (a 33-person council, where for the 1st two years is UNELECTED and Appointed by the Mayor Only-Stenger, (can’t imagine that this appointed council would object to a Charter put together by the very person that gave them their new position).

By the way this document also states that the Metro City’s 1st Mayor will be the individual that was in the St Louis County Executive position on January 1st, 2019. Which means that even if Stenger was to be removed from office before the Amendment were to pass, he would still be the 1st Mayor of the New Metro City.

Literally the entire document gives 1st Mayor Stenger authority/final say on everything, with of course the Transition Mayor Krewson assisting in the reorganization plan of (municipal districts, the St Louis Municipal District and Fire District of St Louis Municipal District) and the Budget. Stenger also gets to appoint: All Department Heads and the Metro City Counselor/Lawyer, also he gets to Appoint 4 Deputy Mayors that will never be elected into office as well.

Let’s talk about this St Louis Municipal District. This district is made up of the old entire City of St Louis. It is governed by a new 5-person board that is again Unelected but Appointed by Krewson. With ANY of its successors being Not Elected but Appointed there after by the Metro Mayor Stenger.

Now the Metro Council represents 33 “Municipal Districts” these districts are made up of St Louis County Unincorporated and the 88 Municipalities. Stenger gets to pick which College will decide the borders of these Municipal Districts.

Once these districts are designed, the Council member assigned has the authority to merge the municipalities within his/her district, as their financial obligations diminish.

Better Together toted that the municipalities would get to stay and run Parks, Trash and Planning and Zoning. However, the 33-person council gets final say over Zoning Matters and in many areas throughout the Amendment, it states “until the Metro City can provide”. This indicates that once the Metro City is capable of providing these services, the District Councilmember will merge all the municipalities within, thus eliminating them.

The “Metro City Government” will be located within the borders of the old City of St Louis. This leaves questions on the 1% City Earnings Tax, it is supposed to be eliminated over a 10-year period, and new employees to the Metro City will get an end of year tax credit.

The 1% Earning Tax will go towards the City of St Louis’s $2,000,000,000+ Billion Dollar debt.

So, there is an open question then as to where the money to run their day-to-day services will come from and will that be from the old St Louis County’s Sales taxes?

You see in order to make this work the Amendment CONFISCATES the Sales Taxes etc. of the County and its Municipalities and leaves the Municipalities with ONLY its Property Taxes and Utility taxes to Pay for its Parks, Trash and Administration of these and any remaining financial obligations, including Pensions for its remaining employees as well as the employees that the Metro City Confiscated to become their employees or terminated because they did not need them and promised the positions to run the new Metro City to all current St Louis City and St Louis County Employees.

Pension issues present several questions all their own.

If the above is not enough, let’s look at another objective of the Amendment.

The Amendment Terminates all Municipal Police Departments and merges them into One Metro City Police Department. It ensures that NONE of the Municipal Chiefs or Assistant Chiefs has an opportunity to be a leader in the new Metro City Police Department and again determines that the Metro City Mayor Stenger gets to choose the Chief of Police. Interestingly enough in the Amendments 2nd Version it deems that the old City of St Louis Collective Bargaining Agreements become that of the new Metro City, this indeed opens many questions……

In the 70’s and 80’s Municipalities typically incorporated because they were not happy with the level of services offered by St Louis County. This is especially true of Police Services and Street Department Services, both of which the Amendment is Confiscating from the Municipalities Authority. Not to deter from the valued services of St Louis County’s Employees but there is a point when departments get too big and cannot equally service all.

Most municipalities can supply their communities with “Community Policing-(officers know most of us and our needs)”, 2-minute service times, Dare Programs, SRO’s, Neighborhood Watch Programs, officers at all community events, etc. The average service times prior to incorporation were 10-20 minutes. This was felt to be too long by those who incorporated and most of us today.

Our street departments perform various duties but most importantly during the Winter Months Plow our Residential streets. St Louis City does NOT plow their residential streets, which leaves their residents unable to get off their streets to even go to work in a large snowfall, till it melts. So one has to ask, “How does an Ambulance, Firetruck or Officer get to these residents in an Emergency?”

Most Importantly!

Our most basic rights as citizens of these United States of America are to vote in Elections for public officials. This amendment not only Eliminates our most basic right as a citizen. But further water downs our voices by allowing the entire state of Missouri to vote in it – there by giving the entire state of Missouri authority over how we are governed and the rules we must live by. Yet we do not get to Do that for them? Or will we?

In a public discussion someone explained to me why they thought they should be allowed to vote on this decision. They are against the Amendment but live outside of the St Louis Boundaries and work within them. Though we would love to have that support the truth simply put is:

“It is not their tax base, i.e. (sales, personal property, utilities etc.) being directly affected.
It will not be their Street Crews and the jobs they do for us, especially when it comes to snow removal that they will be losing.
It will not be their Police Departments that are being confiscated from them. Thus, they will not be losing additional police protections that we enjoy every day and pay extra for happily, to keep us from becoming victims of crimes before the crime happens versus after.
They will not have to suffer through increased crime as a result of losing ex. 5 officers on the roads 24/7 that are replaced by 1 officer on the road 24/7 because the population stats dictate that is all that’s needed.
It won’t be them that has to live under a Government that they were NOT ALLOWED TO ELECT.
It will not be them struggling to provide the standard of Park, and Trash services we are used to due to the confiscation of our Sales Tax dollars and having to pay the Pensions of current and past and Metro City employees out of the Property Taxes and Utility Taxes we are left with. (but of course, this is meant to work towards our elimination as a city to begin with).
It will not be them that has to live under a Charter that we had no say in, that was set up by Stenger and Krewson and cannot be changed except by a 2/3 majority of a 33-person Council that for the 1st 5 years was handpicked by Stenger.
Read the Amendment, it takes away our most basic Citizen Rights.

This vote should be determined by Only the citizens of St Louis City and St Louis County.

Let’s let the Board of Freeholders work as it is designed to work, in this situation.

Do not take away our Rights as American Citizens….

Please Vote No on this Amendment in November 2020.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Amy Poelker