ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO — Voters in St. Louis County have re-elected County Executive Steve Stenger while also approving a number of ballot initiatives to limit his power. The county also voted on Tuesday to raise taxes to support an expansion of the Saint Louis Zoo.
Stenger, who narrowly beat out fellow-Democrat Mark Mantovani in an August primary, has publicly feuded with the county council and that feud will likely continue. Stenger's last ally on the council, Pat Dolan, was defeated by a young, progressive woman, Lisa Clancy, in the same primary where Stenger eked out his win, and the council now consists of a bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats who may not agree on everything but are united in their opposition to Stenger.
"Stenger has frequently overstepped his boundaries, and the county council is taking action to restrain him through several ballot initiatives," wrote the Post-Dispatch Editorial Board in October, citing "corruption and mismanagement" on the part of the county executive for years.
Here's a breakdown of what St. Louis County voters approved on Tuesday.
St. Louis County Proposition 1
Proposition 1 (not to be confused with Amendment 1 on the state level) will reform county-level campaign finance rules, forbidding elected officials from taking contributions greater than $2,600 from individuals or corporations. It will also prohibit donations from anyone seeking a competitive contract from the county for 90 days before and after the contract is voted on.
Currently, there are no limits on donations to candidates in St. Louis County. Supporters say the proposition will put candidates on an equal playing field and help curb corruption.
St. Louis County Proposition 2
Proposition 2 will amend the county charter, putting any sale, lease or disposal of county park land to voters for approval. Voters will also have to approve any permanent structures built on park land for commercial use, and commercial leases will be limited to 10 years.
The county council proposed the ballot measure after Stenger and his allies tried to carve out a piece of park land in Creve Coeur last year for a controversial ice rink. That plan was eventually blocked by the National Park Service, after several environmental groups came together to oppose the project, but county officials have said they don't want a repeat of the proposal without voters having their say.
St. Louis County Proposition B
Proposition B (not to be confused with the statewide proposition of the same name) is perhaps the most contentious of the measures being put to voters Tuesday. The proposed charter amendment will give the county council power to make emergency appropriations and move money around within the county budget — all without approval of the county executive. It will also force the executive to get council approval for doing the same things himself.
The measure will give the county council the power of the purse, transferring a great deal of authority from the county government's executive branch to its legislative branch. Stenger has called Prop B a "power grab" that eliminates important checks and balances. But proponents say Stenger hasn't respected council-approved budgets in the past and that the measure is necessary for county government to function with any legitimacy.
St. Louis County Proposition C
Again, don't confuse this ballot measure with the one on the state level set to legalize medical marijuana — they're quite different. The county Proposition C will require St. Louis County to publish financial documents, including county budgets, debts, expenditures and pension fund balances online for public review. Supporters say it will increase public transparency and accountability.
St. Louis County Proposition D
Proposition D will create a commission to make more significant changes to the county charter. The county is required to put a commission before voters every decade. Now that it has passed, each member of the county council will appoint one member to the commission, seven in total, while the county executive will get an additional seven appointments. The 14-member commission will then have slightly more than a year to propose additional charter amendments or draft a completely new charter. Both will have to be put to voters again for final approval.
St. Louis County Proposition Z
Finally, voters in St. Louis county will be asked for a 0.125 percent sales tax hike to fund an expansion of the Saint Louis Zoo. Proposition Z will raise taxes about a penny for every $8 spent in St. Louis County and, if passed, is expected to generate about $20 million per year. The money will help the Zoo build an off-site breeding center announced earlier this year.
The zoo raised more than $7 million dollars from two anonymous private donors to purchase the tract of land near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in north St. Louis County. With the passage of the sales tax, city and county residents are promised to enjoy free admission to the expansion. Others will have to pay, but how much isn't clear.
The expansion is expected to take about five years to complete. But some critics have said the burden for funding the zoo falls disproportionately on city and county residents already. Taking into account hundreds of community improvement and special business districts, sales tax is already over 12 percent in some parts of the metro area, and residents have been asked for more than a dozen tax hikes and fee increases over the past decade.
According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank, sales taxes disproportionately impact poor and working class Americans as well as communities of color, who may see up to a fifth of their income go to such taxes. Sales taxes further increase the divide between rich and poor and undercut economic growth, the study found.
But supporters, including County Executive Stenger, say the zoo is well worth the cost. The Saint Louis Zoo is one of a handful of free zoos in the country and consistently ranks among the top zoos in the United States. In 2017, USA Today named it the best free attraction in America.
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