Citizens in the uber liberal St. Louis County municipality of University City are fed up with the tax and spend ways of their government – and in particular their mayor. A citizens group calling itself University City Citizens for Transparency and Accountability is holding a press conference this morning – and a town hall style meeting Wednesday evening at 7:00 o’clock in the University City Library – to protest a August 4th tax increase initiative named “Proposition S.” The proposition will be the only item on the ballot.
From the group’s press release:
University City, MO Mayor Joe Adams
“When most municipalities are scaling back unnecessary expenses in their limited budgets, University City government has decided to spend taxpayer dollars on nail spas, record shops and Six Flags,” said 22-year resident Paulette Carr. “At times like this, our city has no business footing such bills.”
For the past several months, citizen efforts to assess the City’s budget in University City have been blocked and ignored. City officials have provided inaccurate information, limited conversation between council members and department heads and employed backroom tactics to allot funds for non-allocated expenses.
“It’s a disgrace that taxpayers are being denied documentation and explanations of where their money is going. These funds, specially allocated for economic development projects by ballot initiative, have been inappropriately and illegally redirected to unapproved expenses.”
“At this point, we have no alternative but to call for an official audit. We need the state to intervene so we can bring transparency and accountability back to University City.”
Unexplained expenditures (checks written) in 2007:
Six Flags – $10,112
Nail Spa – 20
Porters Chicken – 220
Seafood City – 101
Zuma Bead Co. – 310
Mt. Gideon Church -1224
Pagedale Florist – 380
Unexplained expenditures (checks written) in 2008:
Pagedale Florist – $376
MO Payday Loan – 200
National Institute for Truth – 590
National Institute of Ethics – 410
Pension fund of the Christian – 1,618
Alzheimer’s Assoc – 75
Craft Alliance – 125
St. Louis Earth Day – 100
Olivette Lanes – 1,134
ST. Louis Science Center – 1,176
World African Art- 300
Porter’s Chicken – 114
Liberty Art Works – 525
Muzak – 850
Petty Cash – 3,129
Entertainment Weekly – 30
SIU Edwardsville – 12,375
Univ. of Mo – 9,816
Wash U. -16,547
0 responses so far ↓
1 Paul Ground // Jul 27, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I know Joe Adams; he served with me on the Missouri Commission for Intergovernmental Cooperation in the eighties and nineties, and he was Mayor of University City then.
Joe Adams is a good guy. This story illustrates, however, what happens when people are in power for too long. Things begin to be taken for granted, and shortcuts are taken because after all, we’re all friends and no one would rip off the taxpayers. A significant majority of these expenditures are small and don’t matter much in the overall financial position of the City. But some of them are outlandish and even those that might be justifiable can’t be explained because of lack of proper documentation.
No matter how good and personable a guy Joe Adams is, this is a hell of a way to run a railroad!
2 Barbara Bishop // Jul 30, 2009 at 7:42 am
I agree with Mr. Ground, it is time for a change. Why does University City need an in-house PR Department? I have too many “Why’s?” and not enough fiscally responsible answers to my questions.
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