No More Speed Trap in St. George

The tiny, south county town of St. George died a quiet death on December 31st, after residents voted last year to disincorporate.

Now-former Mayor Carmen Wilkerson says it’s already a more pleasant place, at least if you’re a driver. St. Louis County workers, she says, came out immediately after taking over and tore down the 15 mile-per-hour speed limit signs.

She agrees that the city had a reputation for being a speed trap.

“Yeah, I believe it was 15 miles an hour to give the police an excuse to pull somebody over. But now it’s been changed to 25 miles per hour, which is the speed limit on all the county roads, so we’re real happy with that.”

And, ironically, Wilkerson says one of the final acts of a trustee appointed to wind-down the city… is to settle all of the traffic tickets.

Politics Rotten in St. George; Residents Vote to Get out of the Business of Running a City

Thanks to a movement led by Ms. Carmen Wilkerson, mayor of the municipality of St. George, voters ( population 1,337), decided to disincorporate their town. St. Louis County now has 90 municipalities, not 91.
It's a start.

For decades, studies have shown fractured government to be a major impediment to the growth of the region. The biggest problem is the city-county split, but within St. Louis County itself, the vast proliferation of municipal governments and other taxing agencies has led to wasteful and inefficient government. In some towns, city services are poor to non-existent.

This raises the question as to how many other of the 90 cities within St. Louis County are experiencing the same thing.

Like many of the county's small municipalities, St. George relied heavily on traffic ticket revenue, much of it from an infamous speed trap on Reavis Barracks Road.

Earlier this year, Ms. Wilkerson said, she learned that city officials had been in contact with officials in far-off Charlack, a near-north county municipality famous for government-by-speed trap. The idea was that Charlack would send officers across 10 or 11 county municipalities to run speed traps in St. George, she said.

Again, this raises the question as to how many other of the 90 cities within St. Louis County are experiencing the same thing.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-st-george-slays-the-dragon-of-fractured-government/article_a71678a3-ab4c-5d70-99e5-47f1009b3cff.html#ixzz1ddPgE07K

November Election to Decide Fate of City of St. George

The unanimous decision by the council to put the issue up for a vote prompted a small cheer from St. George Mayor Carmen Wilkerson, who attended the meeting, along with several other supporters. In an interview, Wilkerson said she was very excited’ about the voters getting to “make a choice for themselves.”

Those in support of disincorporation have spoken to citizens about the importance of registering to vote.

“Now we get out the vote,” Wilkerson said.

Asked if it would be difficult to get voters to disassemble the town they live in, Wilkerson pointed to the success disincorporation supporters had getting enough signatures to put the initiative on the ballot

City of St. George One Step Closer

The city of St. George is one step closer to becoming nothing more than a history lesson.

The town’s biggest claim to fame is likely a police officer’s vulgar run-in with a young motorist a few years ago. Since then, the police department has been disbanded and some city leaders launched an effort to take the town in the same direction.

St. Louis County elections officials this week certified signatures on a petition to dissolve the town, and all the measure needs now is a formal vote from the St. Louis County Council.

County Council Chairman Steve Stenger said he supports the right of St. George voters to decide their own future. Officials say the town is so small it doesn’t have a reason — or the financial means — to exist.

The other side has alleged that taxes would rise and the neighborhood would lose its identity. If residents so vote, the area would become just another stretch of unincorporated south St. Louis County.

County Population Will Jump Should St. George Unincorporate

St. George, MO, has about 345 homes, 380 condos, 1400 residents and one reputation they would like to lose.

The area along I-55 south of St. Louis has been referred to as a notorious speed trap. A video posted on-line got national attention showing a St. George police officer berating and threatening a motorist. There have been other cases of alleged corruption and abuse

If St. George decides to disband, unincorporated St. Louis County would get 1,300 new residents overnight. Citizens in this small city are collecting signatures as part of a petition drive to decide whether or not the cost of being their own city outweighs the benefits.

So far, the town has gotten rid of its own police force and opted for county police protection instead. Other city responsibilities, like road repair, would also fall to the county if the city disbands.

A small city like St. George feels more like a neighborhood than a municipality.

Most of South St. Louis County, in fact, is unincorporated. That is, places like Mehlville, Affton, Lemay, Sappington, Oakville, Concord and Tesson are not actual places with boundaries, mayors or city halls. Many probably live in one of these places and never realize it.

The only municipalities in South County are St. George, Crestwood, Green Park, Sunset Hills, Marlborough, Shrewsbury, Wilbur Park, Bella Villa, Grantwood Village and Lakeshire. Many of these cities are also neighborhoods with just a few hundred residents.

What difference does it actually make whether you are in a city or not? For one thing, living in an unincorporated area means you have no mayor or town council to vote for, and no mayor or town council to directly complain to when there are problems in your neighborhood that a city would typically handle.

The closest person to your mayor is Sixth District County Councilman Steve Stenger or County Executive Charlie Dooley, who are both responsible for much larger areas of the county.

Unincorporated areas also don't qualify for some federal and nonprofit grant money for neighborhood cleanups, main street revitalization or small business tax credits. Services such as coordinated trash collection, community centers, streetscape renovations, street banners, neighborhood parks and swimming pools are often run by municipalities, so the unincorporated areas generally have fewer of these types of opportunities.

The benefits of unincorporated areas like Mehlville can include lower tax rates, because there is no municipal level of government to fund. We can also leverage the cost of larger-scale services like the police department to keep us safe.

Unincorporated areas cannot speak with one voice to make long-lasting decisions about the community’s future. We have to rely on St. Louis County initiatives to define who we are.

Many South County residents are fine with that, because paying lower taxes is more beneficial to them. To others, being able to define future developments and focus on fixing blighted spots in our neighborhoods would be worth having a municipal presence.

Wherever you live, take responsibility for your community. It is the residents who make or break a place, not a label or boundary. Just don’t expect to run for mayor anytime soon

A St. Louis area alderwoman is fighting her own city hall in St. George

Reported by KMOV-TV

The dispute is happening in the tiny community of St. George in south St. Louis County off Reavis Barracks.

Outgoing alderwoman Carmen Wilkerson is starting a petition drive to dis-incorporate the town which has been around for more than 60 years.

Wilkerson says the county can do a better job providing citizen services. The mayor says that's not true.

Now both sides are battling for citizens’ support.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Alderwoman-mayor-at-odds-over-fate-of-small-St-Louis-County-town-115631434.html