urbanSTL

While the bigger munis can be dysfunctional too, this would be a good start.

Stltoday - Editorial: Legislature should provide a cure for suburban dysfunction

That would trigger a court-supervised process that Tim Fischesser, executive director of the Municipal League, described as similar to the school accreditation process. Experts would mentor officials of the troubled city and make recommendations for improvement. The court would give the city 90 days to show improvement.

If that fails, the court could appoint an outside administrator and freeze city officials' salaries. After six months, the court could replace the troubled city's elected officials and order the city to merge with "an agreeable neighbor."

If the merger fails, the court could — with the approval of 40 percent of registered voters — order a disincorporation vote.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/co ... 88454.html

^Excellent idea!

Michael Calhoun ‏ @michaelcalhoun

BREAKING: Dellwood council votes 5-to-3 to outsource policing to St. Louis County.

Walking-dead municipal gov't?

KMOX - Dellwood Police Department is Now No More

“Why do we need eight members of a board to run a recreational center and a street department now? That’s all we’re going to be in change of at this point,” he said.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/04/13/ ... q0.twitter

Nine separate shootings over the weekend including two in the Grove.

http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Violent- ... 88635.html

Why is it always a Chevy Impala? Is this how stereotypes get started?

quincunx wrote:

“Why do we need eight members of a board to run a recreational center and a street department now? That’s all we’re going to be in change of at this point,” he said.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/04/13/ ... q0.twitter

Good question James Loving, why did you need an eight-member board to run a recreational center, a street department, and a police department? If losing one function makes the board unnecessary, maybe it wasn't that necessary to begin with...

The article also mentioned another municipality with around 15,000 residents might follow Dellwood's path of outsourcing it's police department to the county. Maybe this is the beginning of a trend.

This should be the giant red flag that starts the merger talks - St. Louis County is losing residents and wealth, the city is losing residents, but gaining wealth according to the 2010 census.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metr ... 56325.html

St. Louis County is a post war, built out, first generation suburban county that needs to evolve into a 21st century mature urban county if it wants to remain economically viable. A smart St. Louis County would go bullishly after Metrolink expansions, denser redevelopment around transit, streamlining government, focusing on economic clusters and job centers, retaining young professionals, and attracting immigrants. Unfortunately, St. Louis County is squandering redevelopment opportunities with more suburban sprawl, is lackluster about transit, thinks economic development is an outlet mall in a flood plain, and could care less if young people leave the region. I love St. Louis, but the truth is we need new, young blood or this region will die.

^Yeah it does.

Are people just going to keep moving West and West until we are eventually a suburb of KC?

The main thing we have going for us is the monstrous gain of city residents with College degrees. Our statistically highest chance of being the next CEO's are choosing to live in the city, and hopefully they continue to.

I think Boston would be an attainable urban model for St. Louis to shoot for.

goat314 wrote:St. Louis County is a post war, built out, first generation suburban county that needs to evolve into a 21st century mature urban county if it wants to remain economically viable. A smart St. Louis County would go bullishly after Metrolink expansions, denser redevelopment around transit, streamlining government, focusing on economic clusters and job centers, retaining young professionals, and attracting immigrants. Unfortunately, St. Louis County is squandering redevelopment opportunities with more suburban sprawl, is lackluster about transit, thinks economic development is an outlet mall in a flood plain, and could care less if young people leave the region. I love St. Louis, but the truth is we need new, young blood or this region will die.

What he said!

How can I help?

^Start St. Louis' own "Second City/SNL" here in the city!

but the truth is we need new, young blood or this region will die.

I'll take new blood period. I want anyone who wants to move to the region and City.

I'm really curious if the County will take action giving this latest news. Is this the kick in the butt leaders need to start doing things differently? I hope so, but I just can't really get my hopes up about that.

I don't find pleasure in this report either, it's actually a little scary. I grew up in STC but parts of the county east of 270 & even 170 definitely feel like home and bring back memories. I want our entire core to be healthy.

newstl2020 wrote:^Start St. Louis' own "Second City/SNL" here in the city!

I was thinking about exactly that, actually. And ImprovSTL is just the guy (girl?) to talk to. Last week, I was at The Second City's History of Chicago and it was amazing. Talked about the futility of the Cubs, the saga of Mayor Daley, the ascension of Rahm Emmannuel, etc. There was even an interpretive dance performance chronicling the Chicago Fire.

I'd challenge a St. Louis troupe to come up with something like this for St. Louis -- it could be tied into the 250th Anniversary coming up in a couple of years! It could be huge for independent comedy theatre in St. Louis and help stabilize/strengthen the format here.

Kevin B wrote:

newstl2020 wrote:^Start St. Louis' own "Second City/SNL" here in the city!

I was thinking about exactly that, actually. And ImprovSTL is just the guy (girl?) to talk to. Last week, I was at The Second City's History of Chicago and it was amazing. Talked about the futility of the Cubs, the saga of Mayor Daley, the ascension of Rahm Emmannuel, etc. There was even an interpretive dance performance chronicling the Chicago Fire.

I'd challenge a St. Louis troupe to come up with something like this for St. Louis -- it could be tied into the 250th Anniversary coming up in a couple of years! It could be huge for independent comedy theatre in St. Louis and help stabilize/strengthen the format here.

We are working that way:

www.theimprovshop.com
www.compassimprov.org

Hopefully the small steps being taken will add up to something bigger over time. St. Louis city, county police chiefs agree on more joint efforts

Budgetary concerns appear to be doing what politics has so far stymied: combining city and county resources, at least when it comes to police departments.

The top brass from each department met for the first time Thursday to discuss collaborative efforts such as sharing police equipment and personnel from crime labs and homicide units and streamlining prisoner transports.

Fortunately 3949 Lindell isn't in Flordell Hills. Towns that can't provide basic services need to go away.

Stltoday.com - Jennings mayor says Flordell Hills could soon lose fire protection it provides

Flordell Hills is at risk of losing fire protection services on August 1 because of a past-due bill of more than $154,000 accrued since 2008, Jennings Mayor Benjamin Sutphin said Tuesday.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metr ... mode=story

^Definitely. I think many towns are on the brink. For example I hear Glendale has to park its firetruck outside because the floor of the fire station has deteriorated too much, and they don't have money to replace it. And of course there are the speed trap towns.

Unfortunately the leaders in these towns often won't admit it and will hold on as long as possible. It could be that some benefit individually and won't let go until citizens rise up or an external power intervenes.

On the whole I think they're wising-up. The municipal league proposed an accountability regime similar to the one in place for school districts. I don't know how far it got in the state house this session.

I don't know how much it would cost. The prevailing thinking in the movement is to go for the statewide amendment route instead of working under the current language (Board of Freeholders). The reasons being:

1. The BoF process has only made it to the ballot 6 times and only passed once (MSD). It's a cumbersome process and it may rub people the wrong way that a select group of cigar-smokers will go behind closed doors and formulate a plan. Plus advocates worry that the plan will have poison pills, bad ideas, over complicated stuff instead of keeping it simple.
2. Due to the infrequency the process hasn't been heavily litigated unlike the amendment process (other than Freeholders don't have to be landowners now). Opponents can leverage a strategy of lawsuits to stop the effort.
3. An amendment offers an opportunity to rid ourselves of the BoF structure. If say reentry passed under the BoF process another reform would require doing the BoF process. So annexing one acre of land into the city would still require the BoF process. Something like that should happen under the usual process. We should be one big happy home-rule county.
4. A majority across the state is needed to pass rather than a majority in both the city and county. Helps lower the risk of local demagoguery.

When will the movement be putting this on the ballot for a vote of all Missourians? Will it be St. Louis into St. Louis County only?

Nov 2014 if it's put on by voter initiative. Aug 2014 is an option if we can get the legislature to put in on for us is my understanding.
In my opinion it should be as simple as possible, reentry and remove the Article IV 30(a) and (b) (BoF process). Perhaps stating clearly that the StL Co Council should expand to 9. I would prefer no other direct organizational mandates, perhaps just dates for presenting plans, approval, implementation. If they can't do it a judge will do it for them. Here's my amendment language (I am not a lawyer; I just play one on the internet):

The city of St Louis shall become a part of St Louis County and its relationship with the county shall be the same as any other municipality.

The county Council shall expand to 9 and the Mayor of St Louis shall appoint the two additional members within 10 days of certification of passage pursuant to the County's qualifications to be a Council Member. The districts shall be redrawn by the same mechanism they are redrawn after the census with elections to follow at the usual interval. (Might we mandate that 4 districts straddle the City and County ~75K-75K I'd prefer that rather than having two splitting the city)

The County departments of St Louis County shall prepare and submit transition plans to be executed within 2 years after approval to the County Council for approval no later than 90 days after the two new members are seated. Staff of the County offices of the City of St Louis are first in line for substantially similar positions in the St Louis County departments if their respective transition plans deem necessary additional staffing levels (EEOC problem?)

The provisions of the City charter dealing with County responsibilities are removed.

The Board of Alderman of the City of St Louis shall amend or strike down any City ordinances that do not comply with the Charter of the County of St Louis no later than 1 year after approval.

Article VI Sections 30(a) and (b) go away. -- We need to make 1000% sure that any post reentry county reforms are still possible and much easier. My preference is that the County Council puts it on the ballot and we all vote on it as one big happy home-rule county (not this majority in the City and majority in the County crap).

Leave the court circuits alone. The state legislature can change that if they choose.