This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 1, 2011 - St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley has proposed making steep cuts to parks in a proposed 2012 budget, calling for the shutdown of recreation areas throughout the county.
But at least one member of the County Council has said Dooley is trying to force the County Council to accept a tax increase.
The proposed cuts just may be the first salvo in a broader budget fight between Dooley and the council.
In a letter to members of the St. Louis County Council, Dooley wrote that the "proposed budget concedes to the difficult fiscal reality of our time," adding that the document "includes recommendations for sharp reductions in our workforce, trimming off non-essential facilities and an increase of some fees."
Dooley goes on: "By freezing salaries, reducing new hires and insisting on minimal to zero-growth spending over the past three years, St. Louis County has done its best to proactively operate within these constraints. Unfortunately, these cost-cutting measures have proven insufficient. We must take dramatic action now. Like many, I had hoped we could persevere until the dark clouds in the economy cleared. It has become evident that the economic downturn is not just a passing storm, but it is our new reality."
The county's Parks and Recreation Department would feel the brunt of budgetary ax, taking a roughly $4.3 million cut. That agency would receive $21.6 million in the 2012 budget, down from $26 million in 2011. Dooley proposed eliminating 133 employees, including 90 part-time workers. He also proposed shutting down parks and pools across the county.
The closures include:
- Lone Elk Park in western St. Louis County, which is home to bison, wild turkey, waterfowl, elk and deer.
- Ebsworth Park in west county, which includes a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- Fort Bellefontaine in north county, the first military installation located west of the Mississippi River.
- St. Vincent Community Center in north county, the North County Recreation Complex and the Wayne C. Kennedy Recreation Complex in south county.
Lindsey Swanick, the director of the county's parks and recreation department, said the cuts would have a "ripple effect" across St. Louis County, leading to declining property values if parks next to homes aren't maintained and hardships for county employees who could lose their jobs.
"We want new businesses to come to St. Louis," Swanick said. "And if we hear we're closing parks and transferring parks properties to others, what kind of message is that sending to the citizens? It's horrible."
Garry Earls, St. Louis County's chief operating officer, said there are options. One possibility, Earls said, would be to turn George Winter Park in Fenton over to that city. Another alternative, he said, might be a sale to an entity that uses parks "for a variety of recreation activities."
When Lone Elk Park was included on the list, Earls said, "A bunch of people jumped to the conclusion that some strip mall developer would jump in and build a strip mall in it."
"They obviously haven't visited Lone Elk Park," Earls said. "We're not going to pull an Ohio thing here .... we're not going to let the buffalo roam on Interstate 44. And these buffalo, although they're wild animals, they're not very wild anymore. So we just can't leave them there on their own. Somebody's got to take care of them. They're dependent on humans to feed them."
Swanick added: "We're a very responsible agency. We would not just let the animals run loose."
St. Louis County Council President Steve Stenger, D-Affton, didn't return a call to the Beacon, but he did tell the Beacon's Jo Mannies a few weeks ago that Dooley, also a Democrat, is trying to manufacture a crisis. More recently, Stenger told KMOXthat the "purpose of the threatened cuts is to pressure the County Council into a tax increase." He also told the Post-Dispatch that he didn't think Dooley's figures on property tax revenue were correct.
As the Beacon reported earlier, Stenger recently butted heads with Dooley over a proposal to raise property taxes. Dooley eventually dropped the proposal, but he mentioned in his letter that "although my delivery of that message could have been better, my reasons for pursuing the additional funds are reflected in this budget."
Earls said, "This is really about us trying to live within the revenues that we have today." Ultimately, he added, cuts to parks don't need approval from the St. Louis County Council. (Still, the council does need to approve the budget.)
"As far as I know, they can't require us to spend," Earls said. "In essence, if they refuse to approve the budget that we have requested... if we can't get a positive vote on it, then I'd say we'll have other concerns at that point. There are all sorts of things included in the budget that we still have to do next year.
"If it comes to a choice of keeping a park open or keeping 1,206 prisoners in the jail, we're going to choose to keep 1,206 prisoners in the jail," Earls added. "I think the public wants us to do that."
For her part, Swanick said she doesn't "think there's a parks director in the world that wants to be in these types of shoes."
"If the County Council can't find a fix, we'll try to come out of the fire with a much smaller park district and fewer employees," Swanick said. "Currently, I receive five pennies on real estate. They could give me another two pennies and that would give us $4.8 million."
When asked what the County Council should do, Swanick replied, "The right thing."
"They're the elected officials, they need to do the right thing," said Swanic, without specifying any particular action. "Hopefully they'll listen to their constituents and go from there. That's what elected people are supposed to do."
In addition to cuts in Parks and Recreation members, Earls said other departments would have to cut employees. He also said there would be a fee increase for construction permits. Dooley said in his letter the overall plan would save the county about $10 million.
An executive summary of the budget also said that snow wouldn't be removed on "subdivision streets in unincorporated St. Louis County during snow events of two inches or less. That move, according to the summary, would save $277,000 in overtime, fuel and salt in 2012.
Other departments' funding would remain effectively flat in the proposal. For instance, the County's Health Department, which received $57.5 million in the 2011 budget, is budgeted for $58.23 million in the 2012 proposal. And the Department of Highways and Traffic would receive $48.63 million in 2012, compared to $48.75 million in the 2011 budget.
View 2012 St. Louis County Park closures (proposed) in a larger map
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance journalist in St. Louis, covers state and local government and politics.
