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HOUSING CODE ENFORCEMENT AND DERELICT BUILDINGS
This answer concerns primarily the 28th Ward. A goodly portion of the problems of derelict buildings would be eliminated by stricter enforcement of the housing code. Either too many families living in one dwelling can not help but be detrimental to the building. Building maintenance will deteriorate without responsive help from landlord and tenant. Money saved from leveling buildings could be transferred to more building inspectors and code enforcement. Finally the City of St. Louis will be maintaining their present tax base; not destroying a portion of it each year. Look at the results of code enforcement in University City before the property is rented or sold.
LANDLORD AND TENANT RESPONSIBILITIES —
Better communication between landlord and tenant is a must. Cooperation between owner and renter is the best means of preserving the property. Without this cooperation, you will have more condenmed housing and more re-locating (moving) on the part of the renter. To guarantee neighborhood stability, we must have permanent renters and well maintained housing which would be the result of better relationships between landlord and renter.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTROL OF CITY SERVICES
Neighborhood control of city services is too broad a statement and must be defined as to what services would be better controlled locally. Certainly such areas as fire control, police, refuse collection, water would be left in the hands of the city administration. However, this does not remove the checking of performances of these services so as to insure that the best job is done. Communication from citizens through their alderman on these complaints or
through their alderman is the best method of maintaining the correct level of city services, plus action by the alderman on these complaints or suggestions. Action by neighborhood improvement groups is another check on city services and the alderman should work closely with these groups.
CRIME PREVENTION AND ENFORCEMENT —
“Walking the beat” seems to be one of the best deterrents to crime. Better public relations between citizens and police is another deterrent. Help by citizens in prosecuting would alleviate some of the problem. However, more programs like HELP whereby more people are employed and taught skills would be a better solution. People should be taught how to earn money and the use of money. This requires employment openings by industry and a type of person-to-person counselling. A busy person does not have the time or inclination for wanton destruction or crimes against persons.
RACE RELATIONS —
In the central section of the 28th Ward, we already have integration and seemingly pleasant relationships between races. The biggest need is to maintain property values. Certain programs are being developed to maintain this atmosphere — West End Townhouses — while other programs like 235 must be better controlled to avoid overpopulation in the area of indigents to the detriment of both white and black so that we really can have an integrated neighborhood.
SOURCES OF INCOME FOR THE CITY, INCLUDING TYPES OF TAXATION
The best and most practical source of income for the city is to recover more tax money from the state. Urban areas provide the greatest amount of monies to the state. Due to the tremendous financial and service needs of the cities, a greater amount should be returned to alleviate the tax burdens in the cities. The state income tax is one of the fairest methods of taxation, hitting all levels of income. This ‘should be pursued before other types of taxes are proposed or raised.
Originally published in The Paper, August 1970.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1970_08.pdf, printed page(s) 3.
