Resident Says Creve Coeur Capital Budget Will Spend $2.125 Million Without Your Vote

On Tuesday March 26,2013 the Creve Coeur Council will approve the 2013-2018 five year Capital Improvement Budget after the public hearing. Let me assure you it will be approved by this Council without change, because only one or two of us will show up to object to it and to some specifics contained therein.

The citizens have approved sales taxes specifically for the use by the City for Capital Improvements. These taxes bring in about $1,900,000 per year. But that is not enough for the Glantz Administration. They can legally transfer $525,000 this year and $400,000 each of the subsequent years from the $16,000,000 surplus without a voter approval. These supplements are for projects proposed by the professional staff and sometimes suggested by your Council Persons with only the necessity to have them  reviewed by the Financial Committee, The P&Z Committee and the Council. Now you may understand why street repairs of these Committee members as outlined in our Emails "Sheer Coincidence" may have relevance. (You will hear that all the cities do it and that most of the money goes to street repairs and stormwater and trucks etc.)

On the horizon is the remodeling of the Municipal Building which in this writer's opinion should be a bond issue but you may expect it to be a large transfer from the Operating Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund

This writer believes that as long as you do not attend the CI Budget Public Hearings and object to these massive transfers you will continue to get pet and favorite projects implemented.

The logical extension is that as you deplete the surplus by transfer to  Capital Projects that you may or may not want, eventually you will get an argument for another tax increase.

We understand the necessity to transfer money to the Capital Improvement Budget in times of Cost over runs for unforeseen circumstances (And then adjust it the following year) but when it becomes a massive uncontrolled annual transfer then the City Administration has both the fiduciary and moral obligation to take those projects to the electorate and ask for either a CI Budget tax increase or a bond issue for individual items. If these projects are so good for Creve Coeur then why would the Glantz Administration have any problem bringing them forth to the voters for affirmation?

Unless a 100 of you show up at Council for this public hearing and question the Council, you will continue to get an increasing abuse of the system.

R. W. Kent

Ward IV Greengate Subdivsion

THAT IS MY OPINION, IF YOU AGREE WITH ME TELL YOUR COUNCIL PERSON AND SHOW UP AT THE PUBLIC HEARING; IF YOU DO NOT, STAY HOME AND TELL YOUR COUNCIL PERSON. 

Will they be making a million dollar transfer next year?