We wish the very best for the stated intentions of Missouri Council for a Better Economy and its Better Together project that was announced on Tuesday. The public was told that this putative “grassroots project” will systematically study how government services are provided in St. Louis city and county and compare those results to best practices in government.
These studies will be conducted in succession and in the following order: Public Finance; Economic Development; Public Health; Public Safety; Parks, Recreation and Infrastructure; and Administration. Early in 2015 we are to expect “a very clear picture of current practices,” organizers said in a statement, which can be compared to best practices. We are told that “groups and organizations,” rather than Missouri Council for a Better Economy (MCBE) itself, will then be in a more informed position “to craft proposals for how St. Louis city and county move forward in the future.”
MCBE Chairman of the Board Ambassador George Herbert (Bert) Walker III and Better Together Executive Director Nancy Rice both deny that this “grassroots project” is a Trojan horse for a city/county merger proposal. St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, who supports the effort, says he is looking forward to the research data with an open mind. Only Mayor Francis G. Slay, who also supports the effort, came right out and said what was on everybody’s mind: “It has long been a goal of mine to reunify the city and county,” Slay said.
Slay added a caveat, adding, “But we are not prejudging anything in this process.” Of course, no one believes these studies will conclude that a tiny St. Louis city should remain isolated politically from a sprawling and fragmented St. Louis County with 91 municipalities and 23 fire districts. Of course, we will be told we should streamline political entities and consolidate government services, both to eliminate waste and to create a more unified and competitive region, politically and economically. The problem, as always, will be in finding enough grassroots support for these big-picture changes to overcome the varied, entrenched vested interests in the city and county that oppose it. Slay acknowledged this when he said the research will show “what the people of the city and county are willing to support.”
This new effort has been designed to woo the public. The staff and volunteers at Better Together will organize members of the community to work together to develop information about the performance of local governments, we are told. These community members will work with subject-matter experts to develop “readily understood reports,” we are told. Rather than rely solely on consultants to drive the data collection, St. Louis residents will be invited to participate in dozens of sponsored discussions and forums.
Truly, we want this effort to succeed. If enough people in St. Louis city and county can be convinced that we are stronger, safer and more competitive as a more unified region, we would support a creative and inclusive political process that unified our fragmented government structures and consolidated services. But, without “prejudging anything,” as the mayor said, we feel compelled to urge some caution on our good friend Ambassador Walker, an honorable civic leader who has tirelessly pursued change for the greater good.
A great many people will be suspicious of any effort led by an employee of Rex Sinquefield’s primary political shop, Pelopidas, like Nancy Rice. Sinquefield’s emphasis on defunding public schools and destroying the state’s tax base brings suspicion to this effort in advance through the appointment of Rice as executive director. We also fault this effort for failing to pull together a more inclusive team before they announced their intentions to the public. Dooley was the only black leader who participated in the rollout, and even Dooley does not have broad connections to the black community. Further, years of attacks by his enemies on the County Council and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have publicly weakened Dooley to the point where he does not speak from a position of strength.
So, while we embrace the goals of this effort to create a more cohesive, efficient, competitive region, we have doubts about some of its leadership and its ability to manage this extremely difficult process in an inclusive manner that will persuade the public it needs to do something that everyone fears: change.
