Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A committee of parks supporters, including a Town and Country alderman, studied the St. Louis County Parks system and endorsed a tax increase proposal. The measure must pass through the county council, where Councilman Steve Stenger said there is not a fu
A sales tax increase that might be on the ballot in April would free St. Louis County parks from further cuts or closures. (Sign up here for the FREE Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.) That’s according to a committee of parks supporters who filed an interim report with county officials in July. The Green Ribbon Committee, which is comprised of former and current parks directors, city officials and trail agencies, was tasked with analyzing the county parks system after a tumultuous year of layoffs and threats to close parks. Councilman Steve Stenger, who represents South County, said the committee was a “rubber stamp operation” for County Executive Charlie Dooley to get a tax increase passed in St. Louis County. Stenger has …
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Twenty-six employees in the parks and public works departments have been laid off.
In a move that saves St. Louis County about $4 million, County Executive Charlie Dooley announced he was laying off 26 full-time employees, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday. Six employees come from the public works department, while the parks department will see 20 lay-offs. Dooley also plans to terminate four part-time positions in the parks department, one full-time job in the revenue department and 25 funded, but unfilled positions. Dooley said the county would lay off employees after he and the County Council reached acompromise on the 2012 budget. He originally proposed shutting down 23 St. Louis County Parks, laying off 173 employees and eliminating snowplowing in unincorporated areas when less than 2 inches …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Michael O’Mara was named the council's new chair Tuesday night. The economy and county parks are high on his agenda for 2012.
Michael O’Mara (D-Florissant), District 4 was elected the new St. Louis County Council chair at the first council meeting of 2012 Tuesday night. He takes the helm from Steve Stenger (D-Affton), the councilman for District 6. Kathleen Burkett (D-Overland), District 2, is now the vice chair. O’Mara is a Florissant native, and has been on the council since 2000. He was the chair, last, in 2007. He was an All-American soccer player before playing professionally in Kansas City and St. Louis. He joined the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562, and is currently an international representative for the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters. O’Mara’s priorities this year for St. Louis County focus on the economy. He said he …
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The General Fund gains $350,000 in the process. The final vote is next week.
In order to save all the county parks and to keep snow plowing in unincorporated areas of St. Louis County, the St. Louis County Council voted last night to adjust four funds from the original proposed 2012 budget. County Executive Charlie Dooley had made an announcement in the previous council meetingthat a compromise was reached which saved 23 parks from closing. The General fund started out at $232,091,091 in County Executive Charlie Dooley’s original 2012 budget, which included closing the county parks. The amended amount passed last night was $232,441,091–an additional $350,000. Three department budgets saw adjustments. The council voted to pull $22,754,346 from unappropriated Park Maintenance, to go toward Parks and Recreation. The …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
County Executive Charlie Dooley said all St. Louis County Parks will remain open, but job cuts are coming.
Less than five minutes into Tuesday’s St. Louis County Council meeting, County Executive Charlie Dooley made the announcement that all 23 St. Louis County Parks slated for closure in 2012 will stay open. “The things that we’ve compromised on is that we’re going to leave all of our parks systems open… we will keep the West County satellite office open as well, and we will keep the plowing in unincorporated St. Louis County,” he said. The county executive emphasized a team effort in not only adjusting the 2012 budget, but also looking ahead for long-term solutions to what he originally predicted to be a $26 million budget deficit. “There may be lingering issues in the future about how large a deficit was or wasn’t, or if it exists. Those don…
Thursday, December 1, 2011
St. Louis County Council Chairman Steve Stenger said he did not say anything insulting.
County Executive Charlie Dooley called for an apology from County Council Chairman Steve Stenger (D-District 6) about his comments on the Mark Reardon Show Wednesday. “In trying to insult me, Mr. Stenger demeaned and insulted the people of St. Louis County—many of whom do not have a college degree,” Dooley said in a release Thursday. Stenger was a guest on the show and discussed the 2012 recommended county budget and the special committee he formed to create alternative suggestions to the proposed closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks. (See related story: St. Louis County Budget Debate Heats Up) Reardon asked Stenger what background Dooley had specifically to the budget. This was after the two discussed Stenger’s 18-year history as a …
A special committee met Tuesday to brainstorm the 2012 proposed budget.
Two potential alternatives to closing county parks came out of Tuesday’s special budget committee meeting: moving money from the health fund to the parks fund and not filling current vacant positions in the county. (See related story: St. Louis County Budget Debate Heats Up) County Council Chairman Steve Stenger formed the committee, headed by District 5 Rep. Mike O’Mara, to suggest alternatives to the proposed 2012 budget. The budget called for the closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks and 173 lay-offs. County Executive Charlie Dooley said the budget reflected a $26 million deficit in 2012. Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls presented the committee with a report that outlined answers to the their questions from the last budget meeting. …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The debate heats up between the county executive and council chair as St. Louis County's 2012 budget must be passed before Dec. 31. Part of the proposal is to close St. Louis County parks.
Tensions rose Tuesday night at the St. Louis County Council’s second special budget committee meeting when County Executive Charlie Dooley stood by his 2012 proposed budget, which includes the closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks. Check back later this week for more coverage of the budget meeting. The budget, which has been largely criticized by County Council Chairman Steve Stenger, also included laying off 173 employees in both the parks and code enforcement division. “Being the chairman of the county council does not give you the knowledge of the county budget in one year,” Dooley said. “You can’t know what you need to know.” Dooley said he hasn’t received anything from Stenger as the chairman. Stenger asked Dooley to elaborate on what…
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
A special budget committee met Monday to look at the 2012 recommended St. Louis County budget.
The St. Louis County Council believes the recommended budget could be more accurately estimated to close a $26 million shortfall originally projected for 2012. “We just feel with the history the way the budget is estimated that we can get through this and we’re going to have a sound, balanced budget next year,” said District 4 County Councilman Mike O’Mara. “We just think the estimates will come in in our favor to help out next year’s budget." O’Mara said he thought the budget could be balanced through attrition without majorly affecting any department— holding back on positions that are funded and not filling those positions. The county’s Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls and his department created the forecast that generates figures …
Monday, November 21, 2011
The St. Louis County Council's special budget committee meets Monday for the first time to see if the budget can be balanced without closing 23 parks.
St. Louis County is not alone. As a special committee of the St. Louis County Council meets Monday to discuss closing the budget shortfall without closing 23 parks, the National Recreation and Parks Association in Washington D.C. said parks departments across the country are seeing cuts— sometimes twice in a year and sometimes by as much as 30 or 40 percent. Finding funding for parks as public revenue dries up is “probably the hottest issue in public parks and recreation today,” said Rich Dolesh, vice president for conservation and parks for the association. Dolesh, who attended St. Louis University, said “virtually every agency in the county is being tasked with this.” But even in the national trend of slashing public parks, Dolesh said …
