One Man’s Opinion: Too Easy to Vote “NO” On Proposition 1 — $180 Million

One Man’s Opinion: Too Easy to Vote “NO” On Proposition 1 — $180 Million

By Atty. Mike Owens

In August, St. Louis voters will be asked to approve a $180 million bond issue to fund capital improvements in the city. However, earlier this month, some elected officials probably dashed all hopes that the bond issue would pass.

The money is supposed to go for needed rolling stock and capital repairs to buildings and demolition of vacant houses. Plus, there’s a pot of money to fix up privately owned homes. Proponents, all city officials, say the bond issue won’t really be much of a burden on taxpayers. If you own a $80,000 house, you’ll only see a $28 a year jump in your property taxes.

So how did some elected officials already affect the outcome of the vote? Simple, they drive late model cars paid for with taxpayer money. It’s almost like clockwork, every five years or so, a reporter discovers that some city elected officials are given cars as perks of their office.

Those with cars are the collector of revenue, the license collector, the circuit attorney, the treasurer and the comptroller. The mayor is also given a city car, and police officer/driver, but says he doesn’t use the car and driver for personal errands. The president of the board of aldermen usually gets a car, but the incumbent rejected the free wheels.

Not only do those officials get a take home car, most of them 2013 models or newer, they get a gasoline card and free auto insurance! It is a good deal and can be worth as much as $8 to $10 thousand dollars a year.

But you have to wonder, why these elected officials actually need cars. I don’t think the treasurer is doing all that much work outside of her office. Nor is the comptroller or the collectors. Comptroller Darlene Green is famously the target of a TV news story in which her spokeswoman tells the reporter “NO” over and over again when he asks about Green’s free wheels. The spokeswoman looks foolish and Green looks surprised and the reporter has video gold!

I’m thinking the spokeswoman, paid for by my tax dollars, might need another training session at PR response school. Or better yet, why have a PR person at all. And, why does Green need a car…she’s the city’s bookkeeper, and doesn’t really need to go out and make sure the bills are being paid!

Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce has the newest car of them all. She doesn’t need it to drive to the courthouse, since her office is in the same building! She’s also announced she will not run for reelection, and has tossed her endorsement to one of her deputies. Let’s hope that deputy rejects the car during her campaign.

I don’t understand why the cars are necessary. I think they need to all prove need and to justify their use. I think they need to provide monthly reports on how the vehicles are used and how many miles they rack up on city business. I think the use of the taxpayer paid cars needs to be limited to taxpayer business, so no trips to the grocery store.

This car flap is thanks to Sharon Carpenter, the recorder of deeds, who was in line for a new set of wheels, but then rejected them when it came out her husband had been driving her city car and had not one, but two, accidents. Having a family member drive a city car is a violation of city policy. Carpenter had told city budget managers that she should get a car, since she’s entitled to one. Nothing worse than an entitled politician. She needs to drive her own car, as do the others.

What I suggest is that all the city wide elected officials, except the mayor, divest themselves of their city paid cars. Have a news conference where they turn in their keys, and at the same time, say they are on a budget diet, and urge voters to pass Proposition 1. Once they cut the cars, they can actually urge the voters to dig deep and raise the bond issue money.

I don’t think Prop 1 will pass, since there are too many questions about how the money will be spent. Trimming the cars might get enough attention to attract some votes. The key surrender would be pure theatre, but I would pay to see it.

Editor’s Note: Mike Owens is an attorney and can be reached at 314-803-9138 and a former highly popular former investigative reporter for KSDK, NewsChannel 5. However, the opinions expressed by Atty. Owens are NOT necessarily those of this website, especially on Prop 1.