Last Friday a newly formed coalition held a press conference at City Hall regarding an initiative that could appear on the November ballot, if its supporters gather enough signatures. The coalition aims to frustrate efforts to gather those signatures, by urging the public to “Decline to sign” the petition.
If the petition effort succeeds, the initiative makes it onto the November ballot and is passed in a statewide vote, according to documents filed with the Missouri Secretary of State, then “starting in 2011, voters in any city imposing an earnings tax will decide in local elections to continue the earnings tax. If the majority of local voters vote to continue the earnings tax, it will continue for five years and then will be voted on again. If a majority of voters in any city having an earnings tax vote against continuing the earnings tax, it will be phased out over a period of 10 years.”
Currently, the City of St. Louis levies a one percent tax on earnings within the city limits. The City described the fiscal impact that eliminating this tax would have on its ability to deliver services in a letter to the State Auditor’s Office.
“The one percent earnings tax is responsible for $141 million or approximately 39 percent of the City’s discretionary revenue,” the City notes. “If the City were to lose all or most of that revenue, it could no longer function as a viable municipal government. The consequences of losing all or most of the earnings tax revenue without replacing it with alternative sources of revenue and/or eliminating extra costs created by the City’s unique structure would result in cuts to public safety services so deep as to end the City’s viability as a place to live, work and visit.”
This dire language was written and signed by Jeff Rainford, Mayor Francis G. Slay’s chief of staff and closest advisor. Yet neither Slay nor Rainford joined the coalition in City Hall on Friday morning asking the public to “decline to sign” the petition that aims to pave the way for this alarming change in our tax code.
Politically, Slay is in a tight spot here. The mastermind and funding source behind this initiative is Rex Sinquefield, Slay’s single largest campaign donor. Sinquefield retained a Jefferson City attorney, Marc H. Ellinger, to file the petition and act as its spokesperson. Ellinger told The American they have retained National Petition Management, Inc. out of Roseville, California to run the signature-gathering effort (some 92,000 signatures will be needed to get the initiative on the ballot). Until now, Slay appears to be reluctant to bite the hand that feeds him by publicly opposing this irresponsible initiative.
Yet, at the same time, we have the mayor campaigning very publicly and actively on behalf of local control of the City police. Consider the emotional resonance of a phrase like “local control” in the context of the earnings tax initiative. We have here a California firm gathering signatures for a Jefferson City attorney (funded by a financier who made his fortune while living in California) to further an initiative that would impact the City of St. Louis – not Roseville or Jefferson City. In fact, according to the mayor’s own chief of staff, if successful the initiative would “end the City of St. Louis’ viability as a place to live, work and visit.”
The City of St. Louis does, indeed, deserve local control – in this case, local control over how it levies taxes and when its decision on tax levies is thrown open to public vote. There is a need for thoughtful, responsible discussion about ways to spur economic growth and development in the city. This ballot initiative, however, is reckless. Citizens should decline to sign this petition – and the mayor should show the political courage to stand up and forthrightly and unequivocally say so.