Parkway CFO Raises Possibility of New Bond Issue for 2014

The school district's CFO said it will exhaust its current bond funding this summer and will not have any funds available for additional capital projects.

With the last bit of funds from a 2008 bond issue scheduled to be spent this summer, the Parkway School District's chief financial officer is recommending the school board began talking about placing a new bond on the ballot next fall. CFO Mark Stockwell made the remarks during a presentation to the board at their May 8 meeting. The bond serves as a source of funding for capital expenses, such as maintenance for the district’s facilities. Parkway has about $5.4 million in various projects set for this summer. After that, the bond funds will be gone. Stockwell said this means the district will no longer have money available for additional capital expense or improvements outside of emergency repairs. His preliminary 2013-14 budget sets aside…

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Resident Warns of Creve Coeur Budget Transfer

Patch blogger calls attention to an upcoming budget hearing to stop what he calls an abuse of the system.

Public Budget Meetings Offer Dialogue, But No Changes On Planned Parkway Cuts

The Parkway School District held the final in a series of four public presentations and feedback-gathering sessions and will vote on a proposal to cut $3-4 million from the 2013-14 budget this week.

With the last of its public budget meetings conducted last week, Parkway School District officials said they are ready to bring a proposal to cut $3.3-4.1 million over the next two years before the school board for a vote this week. The meeting at Parkway Central High School was the final in a series of four presentations at various district high schools to present information on the cuts and gather input from residents on the plan. School Board President Beth Feldman said the feedback at the meetings has not produced any broad themes or major criticisms, so herself and her fellow board members will likely vote on the package as it has been presented at their meeting Wednesday. “I think the issues that have come up seem to be issues that …

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Pattonville Officials: District Could Run Out of Cash in Five Years

Pattonville School District officials expect to run out of cash in five years if the school board doesn't act on balancing the district's budget. The board will meet tonight for a special work session.

The Pattonville School District will run out of cash in five years if school officials don't act on an increasingly grim budget scenario.  According to district documents, the economic downturn has lasted much longer than Pattonville officials anticipated. For that reason, school board members are expected to meet Tuesday for a special work session focused on balancing the district's budget. "Expense reductions alone will not be able to address the shortfall without a significant impact on how we educate students, and the quality of their education," a presentation made to the board earlier this month states. Without change in budget structure, the district would be $5 million in debt in just three to four years. Now, salaries make up more…

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Parks $500K Budget Shortfall Might Not Exist, County Official Says

A spokesperson for St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said a projected shortfall in the parks department may not be a reality.

Calls for a tax increase to pay for St. Louis County parks because of a funding shortfall could be sounding the alarm too early. That’s according to one official in County Executive Charlie Dooley’s office who asserts that a $500,000 budget shortfall might not actually exist. “That’s a nice number, I don’t know if it’s based on any kind of reality,” spokesperson Mac Scott said. “We’re unaware of that kind of a problem as this point.” The parks department created a business plan based on 2013 budget projections from the county executive’s office. Those projections included zero funding from the county’s general fund and a $7.4 million decrease in the budget over two years. The business plan looked at alternate revenue sources and cost-…

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City Budget Proposal Increases, Emphasizes Labor

The public hearing of the 2013 proposed budget revealed primary spending areas for 2012 and goals for the future.

The Creve Coeur city budget for the 2013 fiscal year was presented for public hearing at the City Council meeting June 11. City Administrator Mark Perkins walked through a breakdown of spending in 2012 and areas of improvement for the coming year. Perkins called the proposed budget, which would go into effect July 1, "labor intensive, so to speak," because of its emphasis on city employees. The proposal of a 2.8 percent increase, from $14,598,654 in 2012 to $15,008,740 for 2013, came largely in part to cover expenses for city employees. With the decreasing number of personnel, the Police Department would still make up the largest total budget spending area at 45 percent. Public works make up 28 percent. A primary focus for employees …

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Scott Simon

5:16 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012

Labor intensive and not revenue intensive. No surprise Parks and Rec fail in that area with thousands of dollars of available revenue sources available now used for years in hundreds of other cities. Creve Coeur is 20 years behind the times.   more ›

Ladue School Administrators Outline Possible Cuts

Some of the scenarios may play out regardless of how April's tax levy vote fares.

Monday night, Ladue School administrators articulated budget realities which could kick in for the 2012-2013 academic year, even if voters say yes to a 49 cent tax levy on the April ballot. According to documents discussed at Monday's school board meeting, administrators have identified more than $2 million in possible cost savings. The largest single area of savings ($1.385 million) would be obtained the following: Administrators said in the documents discussed Monday that they hope most if not all of the eliminated staff will come through retirement and regular attrition as opposed to actual people losing jobs. Last fall, the board approved a move to extend health, medical and dental benefits for employees who put their intention to …

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Parkway Superintendent Outlines Budget Reduction Approach

The Board of Education will discuss the proposals next week.

Compromise Reached: All Parks to Stay Open

County says job cuts are part of the plan to reach a budget deal.

Less than five minutes into Tuesday’s St. Louis County Council meeting, County Executive Charlie Dooley made the announcement that all 23 St. Louis County Parks slated for closure in 2012 will stay open. “The things that we’ve compromised on is that we’re going to leave all of our parks systems open… we will keep the West County satellite office open as well, and we will keep the plowing in unincorporated St. Louis County,” he said. The county executive emphasized a team effort in not only adjusting the 2012 budget, but also looking ahead for long-term solutions to what he originally predicted to be a $26 million budget deficit. “There may be lingering issues in the future about how large a deficit was or wasn’t, or if it exists. Those don…

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The Week Ahead In Creve Coeur

The Week Ahead: Police Hearing, Budget News & Our Birthday

A look at what's going on around Creve Coeur Patch as we approach our first birthday!

Welcome to a very special week here at Creve Coeur Patch. Later this week, we'll mark an entire calendar year of having provided local news and community information for those who work, live, attend school, and play in the city of Creve Coeur. Throughout the week, we'll share some of our favorite stories, pictures and memories from the first of what we hope are many years as a source of community. What are yours? Monday's previously scheduled Planning and Zoning Commission meeting will not be held. However, a 5 p.m. public hearing in connection with the Creve Coeur Police department's evaluation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. or CALEA, is on schedule. On Wednesday, we'll be following an important …

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