Is St. Louis on the skids or is it a city – a region – where residents can look ahead with optimism and encouragement? Are we, once among the largest and most influential cities in the country, destined for decline or looking to a future marked by growth and increasing competitive strength?
These questions may soon be resolved as the residents grapple with the matter of the County extending its borders to include the City as its 91st municipality. This development would elevate the City, now ranked as the 59th most populated U.S. city, to becoming the 8th with a combined population of over 1.3 million. What would follow would likely be a growing reduction in the present duplication of services and government offices. The marriage of these two political entities would undoubtedly over time result in important savings, lower taxes and a more vibrant image.
It is well known that in 1876 leaders in the City reached the conclusion that the City would be better if it separated itself from those who lived in “the country,” an area now known as St. Louis County. So by amending the Missouri Constitution, the City divorced itself from the people they considered less urbane, thereby establishing two distinct political entities. Approximately 50 years later, the first of many efforts began to undo the divorce, but for one reason or another all were unsuccessful.
What can be gained by this effort to have the County extend its borders to include the City and why has this not been accomplished before?
First comes the likelihood of eliminating the extraordinary duplication of services which now exist. Today, both the County and the City are managed independently to a large extent, each with municipal services that are common to significant political structures. St. Louis City, St. Louis County and its numerous municipalities and fire districts spent $1.7 billion per year for local government services. This figure does not include airport or water department expenses. Of course, re-entry would not immediately involve savings of this magnitude. But the potential is there, and re-entry could very well be the first step.
Of equal importance is the matter of image. Now the City is often portrayed as declining in population and crime-ridden (tops in violent crime), but uniting with the County would drop our crime ranking to 103rd in addition to positioning St. Louis among the top U.S. cities in population. Moreover the ability to project the new unified St. Louis nationally and all its outstanding features would be greatly enhanced.
No longer would the City compete with the County to recruit business from each other. Joining together would strengthen our ability to compete against other cities. Bringing together City and County would project an image nationally that would make Saint Louis much more appealing, stronger and certainly more competitive. Our great universities, medical centers, the amazing Botanical Garden, in addition to our many Fortune 500 companies and investment firms, can and should be showcased by a unified city.
The question is often asked why this extension of borders by the County has not been accomplished before since Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville and other cities have successfully achieved similar unification. There are many reasons.
Earlier, the Mayor and County Executive did not favor this development as they do today. Also, there has been no grass-roots effort as there is today, thanks to the leadership of Dr. Charles Schmitz and businessman Bill Frisella and the organization they founded, St. Louis is a World Class City.
Earlier efforts have been promoted as a merger of the City and County, which has frightened and put off citizens in both the City and County because of the threat of immediate reduction in employment by the merged entities. This time a much more incremental approach is being advanced by the proposal that the County extend its borers to include the City. Initially, as the City becomes the 91st municipality of the County, local school districts, as well as local police and fire departments in the County, would not be affected. But over time, there is every reason to expect that through attrition and popular pressure meaningful duplication would be eliminated.
The time has come for St. Louis to renew itself and become again recognized nationally as the great and vibrant city as it was many years ago. Saint Louis has too much going for it to resign itself to anything less than a world class city, dynamic and growing.
Walker is former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.
