The City of University City will have a $3 million bond issue on the April 6 ballot for fire equipment – Proposition P. The bond issue isn’t needed and there are questions if the fire equipment is even needed. Here are the Top 10 Reasons to reject the tax:
1) Proposition P would unnecessarily raise your property taxes. Though it won’t say so on the ballot, Proposition P would raise your property taxes to pay for two new fire pumpers, new furnishing for the new fire station at Westgate and Vernon, and for renovations of the old fire station. There is no need to raise taxes or go millions of dollars into debt for these purposes.
2) There is $350,000 already set aside for a new pumper truck. The City has $350,000 on hand to pay for a new fire pumper, which cost about $550,000. The apparent plan was to buy one pumper now and another at a later date – without any bond issue. But it seems the idea was to put the bond issue on the ballot before the state audit of the City was conducted.
3) There is a dedicated sales tax just for the Fire Department. There is a sales tax collected in U. City that goes just to the fire department. It raises about $550,000 a year. The Fire Dept. is also funded by U. City property taxes, among the highest in St. Louis County.
4) The City has $8.2 million in reserves! The City of University City has $8.2 million in cash reserves at the current time, nearly twice what is considered necessary. This provides more evidence that the bond issue isn’t necessary.
5) The City has $2 million in delinquent trash fees. University City government has allowed over $2 million in unpaid trash fees to accumulate. This would be enough to purchase several fire trucks and a lot more.
6) City officials have not made the case for new fire trucks. At a Town Hall Meeting on January 11, City Manager Julie Feier was asked several questions about the need for two new fire pumpers as both have less than 55,000 miles on them. She was unable to provide answers.
7) The Fire Chief and the Assistant Fire Chief live out of the city. Fire Chief Steve Olshwanger is supposed to live in University City but he lives in St. Peters. Assistant Chief Don Miners lives in Franklin County. Only one fire fighter lives in U City. This is an unacceptable situation and needs to be resolved before the Fire Department receives any additional funding from taxpayers.
8) The Fire Department Dispatching Contract. Though few U. City residents know it, calls to the fire department are now dispatched from North Central County Fire Alarm. This was all done last year with no public input or knowledge. So if anyone calls 911 for a fire emergency, the call is dispatched to the alarm company which then dispatches it back to the U. City Fire Department.
9) City information on finances is questionable. Last year, University City residents were told a sales tax increase was absolutely needed due to a $1 million deficit. In a brochure that violated state campaign laws, citizens were threatened with all kinds of cutbacks if the tax didn’t pass. Voters rejected the tax and then city officials determined there was really a $500,000 surplus.
10) 0
Best to await results of the State Audit. There have been so many unanswered questions about city finances that residents began a successful petition drive for a state audit last year. The audit will begin soon. It might be best to await results of the state audit, and get a clear idea of city finances, before raising property taxes and going millions of dollars in debt.
William Dodge – "Merchant Prince of Wall Street"
11 months ago
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