Historical Summer 2019 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The beginning of the 2019-2020 Board of Aldermen session coincided with the news of the County Executive’s indictment and the dissolution of the Better Together plan.
While ward reduction had taken a bit of a back seat to the issues surrounding the creation of a unified metro city, it was never far from my mind and the urgency to create a plan for a smooth transition grows with every new session of the Board.
In 2012 we voted to amend the city charter and reduce the wards from 28 to 14.
While there is talk about putting it back on the ballot, the city needs to have a plan in place.
The plan should leverage this opportunity to improve governance, especially for those for whom the current system doesn’t work.
The city’s Racial Equity Indicator Report paints a picture of two cities in St. Louis.
While ward reduction won’t solve all of our problems it gives us the chance to create a more equitable, efficient, and effective government – one that delivers constituent services equitably (not necessarily equally) in a more streamlined manner, for example.
The formation of the Ward Reduction Advisory Committee provides an opportunity for citizens to participate in this reform.
In addition to ward reduction, the Board of Aldermen will be debating bills to limit lobbyist gifts and provide greater transparency for campaign donations, both bills I am co-sponsoring.
We will also consider whether to put the residency requirement for city employees on the ballot.
The city has hundreds of job openings and the requirements for many positions have been lowered in order to find eligible candidates.
In light of the conversations about how the city and county can better collaborate I think it is worth asking the voters whether they approve of the city’s residency requirement. Stay tuned for updates on these and other important legislation, such as the short-term rental bill over the next few months.
All of the board meetings and committee hearings are always available to stream online.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Summer 2019.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2019_06.pdf, printed page(s) 6; PDF page(s) 6.
