Wednesday, September 01, 2010

St. Louis County is Broken And It Ain't Gettin' Fixed

From Mike Roberts . . . .I came across the following comment from a reader of the St. Louis American:

"John Nations is an amazing leader in Saint Louis County. The choice for him to take over as CEO reflects that leadership. Right now he works for Armstrong-Teasdale, one of Saint Louis' most powerful law firms. He does not need this job. He received this job because the Metro board understands that he has the ability to turn the transit system around in Saint Louis County.

And this decision marks one of the few times in the last seven years that Charlie Dooley has been involved in an intelligent decision." (From Charles, Aug. 29, 2010)

I'll say. Dooley is seldom involved in intelligent decisions. Most of his decisions in recent years have just been plain dumb. While there are many good things going on in St. Louis County, there are still too many dumb ones. Police issues, trash & recycling, political donations, use of county cars, proper enforcement of county regulations and a whole lot more.

When it comes to subdivisions in St. Louis County, the most evident to county residents are police protection, trash collections and enforcement of regulations . . . in particular to that of neighborhood preservation. Our police department is fully dedicated, however, they need the tools to increase their services to a higher level. St. Louis County cannot afford to react. We must ACT.

The trash situation is a mess. While those residents and subdivision who opted in to their program, a large percentage did not. What did this accomplish? It accomplished 4 law suits and millions of dollars in expenses . . . and counting. The trash regulations should be repealed and the effort started over - only without the dumb decisions.

Recycling? Why should I when St. Louis County does not. A major city (Kirkwood) within St. Louis County boundaries does not recycle. The St. Louis County Parks system does not support recycling efforts.

Now we have situations of the county waiving penalties for violations of Neighborhood Preservation regulation - uncut grass, privacy fences surrounding a house, gravel driveways, boats and trailers and cars parked on grass, abandoned cars and more.

I don't want to nit pick, but if one person is allowed to break the law, more will expect the same. County residents have a problem. The County Council will not correct it. Voters have to correct it.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:18 AM

    Mr. Charlie Dooley, like so many elected leaders, has fallen prey to the most fundemental rules of engagment.

    Who Do You Represent?

    After many elected officials serve for too long, they forget, they are supposed to Represent the People.

    Elected position is not "Kingdom", and we are not your subjects.

    People elect you for Representation first, and Leadership next.

    Listen to us, and follow our requests.

    Either Lead, Follow, or get the hell out of the way.

    Fail us, and we demand change.

    ReplyDelete