June 2015 Message from the Mayor

June 2015 Edition

Again I have the opportunity to share a few things that may interest you. The first thing is related to my wife’s efforts to encourage our residents to get more active and enjoy better health. As some of you may know, I walk fairly frequently for exercise and cardiovascular benefit. An idea arose that  perhaps we would have a “Walk and Talk with the Mayor” at the recently opened River’s Edge Park on the north side of the levee near the west end of Taubman Prestige Outlet Mall.

Saturday, June 20 at 8 a.m will be the first of these events. We will meet at the boat ramp pavilion. The trail is approximately 1.6 miles around the lake and it takes me 25-30 minutes per lap (I usually do at least two laps). We can share information and swap stories while walking, and you can express concerns and ask questions in a casual environment. If residents like the idea, I am happy to do this on a semi-regular basis and post a schedule on the city website. You may check the city website at chesterfield.mo.us and click on city calendar to verify that the activity is still scheduled, or for future walks.

Of course, the newsletter would not be complete without an update on the sales tax issue. I am sure some of you are getting tired of the issue that seems to keep dragging on, and I too am eager to achieve some progress. One thing that I think is important to understand is that there are many other cities that have a much higher sales tax generation per capita than does Chesterfield, and yet are not required to contribute to the pool anywhere near the percentage that Chesterfield is mandated.

Our population is the second highest among all cities in the county and you would expect our revenue to be higher than most other smaller cities. The press would have you think that Chesterfield is greedy and selfish, but I can assure you that the relatively minor changes before the legislature would help not only our city, but six others as well, while not significantly decreasing others’ revenue. Our city has been very considerate of other municipalities. As you may know, the legislature is in session until mid-May and by then we will know if bills have been passed that would modify the current method of sales tax distribution. Because of the lead time involved in the publication of this newsletter, I can only tell you where we stand as of early May. We have had successful hearings in both the House and Senate and the language from the bill that we support was attached to a Senate Bill and passed by the House and then back to the Senate for approval of the House amendment. Interestingly, language that would allow St. Louis County to put to the voters of unincorporated County a ½-cent additional sales tax for law enforcement was also attached as a house amendment.

There is still opposition to our bill, in spite of further watering down and phasing in of the modifications. A meeting, referred to as a conference committee, is scheduled in an attempt to resolve differences between the House and Senate. By the time this newsletter reaches you, we will know if the bill has passed or not. Regardless, we have come much further this year than ever before and are very thankful to Senator Dave Schatz, Representative Mike Leara and Representative Sue Allen for their hard work and support. Have a great summer! I hope to see you at one of our great events around our city!

Sincerely, 

Mayor Bob Nation