Dooley Rekindles Friction Among Fellow Party Members on Council

Less than a month into the New Year and budget, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley swung the budget ax and cut 26 full-time county jobs last week. The parks and public works departments bore the brunt of the job cuts; 20 jobs lost in the parks department and six lost in public works. There was also one employee let go in the revenue department, but, according to a credible source, political hire Mike Temporiti (son of John Temporiti, Dooley’s campaign manager), was spared, thus holding on to his $70,000 per year job.

In addition to the job cuts announced last week, Dooley’s other cuts call for:

 the closing of the county’s three pools two weeks earlier this year (August 1)

 reducing park maintenance, including trash pickup and restroom cleaning

 eliminating some capital equipment costs, such as trucks, tractors, and mowers

 eliminating capital projects, including replacing the playground at Bee Tree Park, a boat ramp and restroom renovations at Creve Coeur Park, and window, roof, and restroom work at Jefferson Barracks Park

The job cuts are the result of three months of bickering and in-fighting between the county executive and his fellow Democratic-controlled council members, which began at a council meeting on Halloween night of last year in which Dooley presented the council with his plan to eliminate what he claimed to be a $10 million budget gap. At that time, Dooley proposed and threatened to close and/or sell more than 20 county parks and lay off 173 employees, mostly in the parks department. In addition, he threatened to close the West County Satellite Office, as well as drastically curtail snow plowing on residential streets.

The council resisted to Dooley’s threats and the public was outraged to the point that they packed the council chambers late last fall in a two and a half hour public hearing to voice their opinions about the proposed park closings and/or threats to sell them. Later, Dooley admitted that he mishandled the budget issue and reached a truce with then council chair Steve Stenger (D-South County, 6th District). With Dooley’s actions of last week, the rift has re-kindled. Mike O’Mara (D-Florissant, 4th District), the new council chair for this year, who played a key role in stewarding the truce between Dooley and the council, reacted angrily to the news of Dooley’s layoffs. O’Mara said, “Charlie and I had an agreement that there would not be any layoffs this year, and he broke it. His promise was part of my sell to my fellow council members. I don’t know what happened since last month, but now I’ve lost my trust with my council members.” Dooley denied that he made any such promise to O’Mara. Dooley said, “I told Mike whatever we could do with that budget, we’d do. It’s unfortunate, but we can’t work within that budget without making some layoffs.”

O’Mara’s concern is that the layoffs will jeopardize a $100 million bond issue that the council recently approved to be on the ballot on April 3 to build a new Family Courts building. O’Mara said, “You think things have finally settled down, and we get this courts building on the ballot, and now a wrench gets thrown in the works again. We’re going to lose the trust of the citizens over this.”

Former council chair Stenger contends that Dooley should have first fired the eight Democratic campaign workers who got county jobs last year while a hiring freeze was in place. With regard to the parks and public works employees who were let go, Stenger said, “Our parks and public works employees bring a real and measurable value to taxpayers. But these political hires are just being carried on the payroll until the next election.” By the way, the next election is in November of 2014 and there has been speculation that Stenger may bid for the county’s top job. Dooley’s response to Stenger’s comments was that he had not considered firing the political appointees. Dooley said, “I’m not going to pit one group of employees against another. It’s never fair for any employee to be laid off who hasn’t done anything wrong, but the constraints are what they are.”

To listen to the comments from Dooley and Stenger, click on the link below to the Mark Reardon Show on KMOX Radio, entitled, “St. Louis County Council Chair Steve Stenger on County Executive Charlie Dooley laying off 27 county employees due to budget cuts.” Dooley’s comments assert that the cuts were necessary, while Stneger contends they were not, nor does Stenger understand the rationale for the cuts just three weeks into the new budget year.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/01/26/the-mark-reardon-show-attorney-general-candidate-county-budget-cuts-arizona-standoff-your-money-your-values-your-vote-busch-brewing/

At present, it appears that Dooley has but two allies left remaining among the seven members on the council. They are: Hazel Erby, (D-University City, 1st District) and Kathleen Kelly Burkett (D, Overland, 2nd District). Dooley’s long time ally, Mike O’Mara, shifted his allegiance last fall to former council chair Stenger when Dooley initiated his budget cut proposals and threats. Note that this is the first time there has been a major rift between the council and the county executive when members of both entities are of the same political party and maintain a majority on the council.

County Executive Charlie Dooley keeps making one political misstep after another.

According to Mike Anthony of the Call Newspapers, Dooley keeps making one political misstep after another again and again.

That certainly is the case with his recent announcement that 20 full-time employees from the Parks and Recreation Department would be laid off, along with four part-time positions.

Sixth District County Councilman Steve Stenger, D-Affton, contends Dooley's layoffs are "completely unnecessary at this time.''

"... We are not in a cash-flow crunch. We are meeting — more than meeting — all of our current obligations," Stenger said.

Stenger, who served as council chairman last year, led the opposition to Dooley's recommended 2012 budget that called for closing 23 county parks, eliminating 175 jobs and not plowing streets of snow in unincorporated areas when accumulations are 2 inches or less, among other cuts.

The county executive's proposed 2012 budget met overwhelming opposition from residents and the County Council — even Dooley's fellow Democrats on the council.

As it turned out, Dooley backed down on his recommended budget and announced in December all county parks will remain open and snow accumulations of 2 inches or less in unincorporated areas will be plowed under a compromise he reached with the council.

All county parks will remain open "at a reduced rate,'' but Dooley said some layoffs still would be necessary.

At the time, Stenger was skeptical of the need for layoffs and he reiterated that stance last week.

Stenger also questions why the county executive is allowing career county employees to be laid off while nearly a dozen "political hires'' made by Dooley and County Assessor Jake Zimmerman remain on the payroll.

We believe Stenger has had a much better grasp of the county's finances than Dooley, whose budget numbers have fluctuated all over the place.

Just last August, Dooley proposed rolling up the county's property tax rate by 2.3 cents. Shortly after meeting resistance from the County Council — including council Democrats — Dooley announced he was withdrawing the proposal.

Dooley's constant cry of gloom and doom over the county's finances — coupled with laying off career county employees over "political hires'' — further damages what little credibility he has with county residents.

Read more about Dooley’s political missteps at:

http://www.callnewspapers.com/Articles-Impact-News-i-2012-02-01-258400.112112-Dooleys-employee-layoffs-unnecessary-Stenger-says.html

Budget ax falls in St. Louis County

The budget ax that has been hovering for three months over St. Louis County government has finally come down, on the Parks and Public Works departments.

County Executive Charlie A. Dooley said Wednesday that he was laying off 20 full-time employees in the Parks Department and six in Public Works.

Other cuts will include closing the county's three public swimming pools two weeks earlier this summer.

Along with reductions in maintenance work and in capital purchases and projects, the move is designed to trim about $3.6 million out of the Parks Department.

The cuts rekindle the friction between Dooley, a Democrat, and the Democratic-controlled County Council that broke out last year over the budget.

Council Chairman Mike O'Mara, who played a key role in ending the impasse in December, reacted angrily Wednesday to news of the layoffs.

"Charlie and I had an agreement that there would not be any layoffs this year, and he broke it," O'Mara, D-Florissant, said Wednesday. "His promise was part of my sell (of the budget compromise) to my fellow council members. I don't know what happened since last month, but now I've lost my trust with my council members."

Dooley denied making such a promise.

Read more at: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/budget-ax-falls-in-st-louis-county-jobs-are-cut/article_9eca9b09-3b64-5abb-93be-fe039fdb8f7c.html

Dooley Crying Wolf

It's a good process. And it's a model that St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley should consider if he expects county residents to take him seriously.

Instead of leading a fair-minded discussion about revenue estimates and budget priorities, Mr. Dooley, a Democrat, spent the past couple of months crying wolf.

In August, as a prelude to presenting the budget, he told the County Council that revenue was $10 million behind last year's pace. To give police officers and other employees a much-needed raise, he said, there would need to be a tax increase. Otherwise, Mr. Dooley said, he would have no choice but to fire cops.

County Council Chairman Steve Stenger, a Democrat, objected. Mr. Stenger pointed to county documents that showed Mr. Dooley's numbers were wrong. Other council members followed Mr. Stenger's lead.

Mr. Dooley then changed his numbers. Twice.

Later, he apologized for the whole thing.

Then, in November, he submitted a new budget that also predicted calamity. He suggested that, once again, the county staff's proposed budget would have to be cut by $10 million.

This time Mr. Dooley cried WOLF! in capital letters, suggesting closing dozens of parks, laying off employees (though none from his own staff) and closing the West County satellite office.

County residents went nuts. The council stood firm and did the unthinkable. Horror of horrors, it formed a budget committee seeking actual facts.

Mr. Dooley again retreated, and now we're back where we started.

There's not really much of a budget problem. To the extent that it exists, it can be solved by thoughtful cuts, not dramatic ones intended to stir fear in the public. There will be no police officer layoffs or closed or sold-off parks.

The moral of this fable is an easy one: Numbers don't lie.

Here's what should happen going forward, regardless of who sits in the county executive's chair: The county council should be involved in the budget process from the beginning.

There is no reason the county executive and the council chairman couldn't follow the state process and agree on a revenue estimate from the beginning.

There is no reason — none at all — why the council shouldn't have a standing budget committee that does what it did over the past couple of months: Ask tough questions and force the county executive to back up his assertions and projections.

Read even more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-dooley-should-welcome-more-scrutiny-to-county-budget/article_98038b07-1bd7-594a-af25-769c1543cf40.html#ixzz1gFNSG99m

County Reduces Trash Budget 55% for 2008

County officials reduced to about $178,000 the budget to administer controversial trash collection districts in the unincorporated areas from $400,000. Councilman Greg Quinn, R-Ballwin, opposes such districts, and Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger, R-Town and Country wants to delay their start for at least two years. Both suggested the county could save the $178,000 by not going ahead with the districts.

More information is available at: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/6A17EB3A6F402BEB862573A70016A272?OpenDocument
or at: http://tinyurl.com/2lubab

County Budget Includes $400,000 for Start-Up of Trash Program

St. Louis County residents will face higher taxes and the shutdown of the Queeny Park swimming pool and North County skating rink next year, the result, officials say, of a tough economic period.

St. Louis County Executive, Charlie Dooley, submitted to the County Council on Thursday (Nov. 1) his annual budget proposal, a document that included a property tax increase of 2 cents for every $100 of assessed value. Dooley said the increase, which would reverse most of a 2.25-cent reduction the county made in 2005, was needed to balance a total budget of $505.4 million for next year. That is 2.87 percent higher than this year.

The budget includes $400,000 to start operating the controversial trash collection districts in the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County. While County officials say the program will reduce the cost of trash hauling to residents, it looks as if residents will somehow have to pay the $400,000 to start up the program.

More details at: http://tinyurl.com/yofesn