This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 18, 2011 - Missouri House Majority Leader Tim Jones, R-Eureka, is questioning Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to intervene in a raging controversy in St. Louis County over a proposal to shut down some county parks.
Nixon's office issued a statement earlier this week that his administration was working with St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley's office "on the potential for joint state-county management of some countyparks otherwise slated to close."
Dooley has been under fire for proposing a 2012 budget that, among other things, closes parks and dismisses a number of employees.
Jones, already chosen to the next House speaker, said Friday that Nixon's involvement may not be advisable given the state's budgetary situation.
"What I would caution the governor to do before he makes any commitments is to consult with both the House and Senate budget committees," said Jones, who is expected to become speaker in 2013.
"Because I know we're going to have a challenging budget year, that there is going to be some sort of a gap. And I would assume if we're talking about taking on responsibilities for parks, then that's necessarily going to involve financial commitment."
Jones' district includes part of Lone Elk Park and all of Greensfelder Park, two parks that could be closed under Dooley's proposal. Nixon's office had suggested that Lone Elk Park, which contains wildlife such as bison and elk, could be a candidate for a state-county partnership.
Jones also said Nixon's intervention could provide precedent where the state would shoulder responsibilities for other county parks hypothetically embroiled in financial turmoil.
"You're really doing cost shifting," Jones said. "And I'm not sure there's any government right now that has any more ability to take on extra financial burdens or another."
The parks controversy sparked a rift between the Democratic county executive and the Democratic-controlled St. Louis County Council. Five council members on Tuesday, including four Democrats, pledged they would not support shutting down parks.
Jones said it is possible Nixon's involvement could be a way to help Dooley politically. Turning out voters in St. Louis County, for example, is critical for Democrats to win statewide elections next year. And a fight between Democrats in the county could hinder that effort.
"If you were to say there are no politics in this, it would be an incorrect or naïve statement," Jones said. "I think there's definitely some politics involved -– the governor riding in to save the day, so to speak."
In response to questions detailing some of Jones' concerns, Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said in an e-mail, "We are still in the early stages of discussion with the county executive and his staff, and the answers to a lot of the questions will develop as those discussions continue."
Holste told the Beacon on Wednesday that legislative involvement -- as well as the specifics of a state-country partnership -- was still being researched.
Holste also said, "In the case of Lone Elk Park, it is adjacent to Castlewood State Park, so it would be possible to deploy some state resources to keep the county park operating, but with a real cost savings for taxpayers. Specific details about how this joint state-county partnership might work are a part of the ongoing discussions."
Budget Chairman Also Concerned
Jones isn't the only state lawmaker skeptical of Nixon's proposal.
House Budget Chairman Ryan Silvey, R-Clay County, said he hasn't received any specifics on the plan. But he said it may showcase misplaced priorities.
"The thing that strikes me about it, we don't know what he's committing to. We don't know where the funds are coming from," Silvey said. "And I understand that people get excited about parks, but everybody says that education's the most important issue, and yet in the current budget we're withholding from multiple education items.
Silvey echoed Jones' concerns that the move could set a precedent for which other counties will seek state help to run parks.
"If it goes through, I think they should," Silvey said. "It's not fair, really, to start picking and choosing parks if they'd like that. I think it's probably a bad precedent to set in general. But certainly, if he's going to be doling out money to parks departments, then I think that every parks department in the state is going to start hitting us up."
Silvey said that, if he had to guess, any money to assist St. Louis County parks would run through a community block grant program or a type of "parks grant" program within the Department of Natural Resources using other funds.
"I would be extremely surprised if he was going to use general revenue at all, considering how many other general revenue needs there are," Silvey said.
Jones Favors Local Approach
While not speaking for any mayors of municipalities, Jones said, "Instead of the governor inserting himself into this, they should try to resolve this first on the county/municipal level."
Indeed, Dooley and his administration have suggested county-municipal partnerships for parks. Garry Earls, the county's chief executive officer, told the Beacon earlier this month that George Winter Park could be turned over to Fenton. Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock said he was lukewarm about the idea.
Jones said larger cities in St. Louis County -- especially in the western portion -- "are financially very stable right now." He said "a couple of mayors" in his area are "going to look at all the options" and discuss the matter with their city councils, the county council and county executive.
"If the choice is between closing the parks and getting rid of them versus making an offer to municipalities to see if they're interested, I think most people would choose to have their local municipalities take the parks if they're financially able to," Jones said.
"I would think that the county would want to discuss the issue of anything happening to these parks with municipalities where they are located first," Jones added. "And if the municipalities say 'uh uh, we're not interested we can't take on these,' then you have the answer to your question. But I'm not sure why the governor has tried to insert the state in this on the front end unless he's got a great idea that was not in his press releaseas to how we would manage all this and pay for it."
If anything, Jones said the parks flap exposes "weaknesses" in the county's budget process "that have been percolating." Individual council members can only vote to approve or disapprove a budget; they cannot make changes to line items. The county executive -- who proposes the budget -- could go back and make modifications.
"This park thing has come up and the council said 'whoa,whoa, whoa -- we don't know if we need to go there right away,' " Jones said. "Instead of a knee-jerk reaction of 'let's just go close 20-some parks,' how about we look at the whole budget and see what our priorities should be. So I give the council a lot of credit for taking what I think is the more measured approach to this."
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance journalist in St. Louis, covers state and local government and politics.
