Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Pay increases are being discussed by officials during St. Louis County's budgeting process this year. It would mark the first time in four years that employees were given raises.
Raises for St. Louis County employees are being discussed by officials during this year's budgeting process. (Sign up here for the FREE Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.) It would be the first raise county employees received in four years. “We’re in the first third of the budget process and talking about all of the different options here,” said Mac Scott, spokesperson for County Executive Charlie Dooley. He added that a raise isn't certain yet. “We got some things (last year) that were better than we thought they’d be,” he said. Councilman Steve Stenger (D-South County) reinforced the possibility during a South County Chamber of Commerce meeting on Thursday. “The St. Louis County police are the best in the area, but we …
Monday, August 20, 2012
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-…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Councilman Steve Stenger disagrees with the allocation for St. Louis County Parks as County Executive Charlie Dooley’s budget office reduces funding for the department.
The St. Louis County Parks Department is still $500,000 in the red despite laying off 20 employees and increasing revenue by $193,780. Those numbers were presented to the St. Louis County Council Tuesday in a plan meant to make the parks department more efficient. Acting Parks Director Tom Ott created a business plan that outlined a strategy to keep parks providing the basic services while reducing costs. The plan comes seven months after County Executive Charlie Dooley proposed closing 23 parks and laying off more than 100 employees because of a budget crisis. Early budget projections showed a $10 million deficit, according to the county executive. *At the end of the year, the county received unexpected revenues, leaving the parks open. …
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Employees were told their jobs were safe.
At age 43, Michele Whalen is looking for another job after almost three months of uncertainty. Whalen was one of 20 St. Louis County Parks employees who received lay-off notices on Jan. 24. An additional six employees were laid off in other departments. “They saved the parks, but they didn’t save our jobs,” she said. “At least now we know what was up, from Oct. 31 to Tuesday, we couldn’t do anything, we couldn’t plan anything. How would you like living your life like that?” Whalen has worked in the parks maintenance department at Jefferson Barracks Park for the last year, and was a seasonal employee for three years before that. The 26 layoffs come after a heated debate over the 2012 county budget. On Oct. 31, Dooley submitted a budget to …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
After a tumultuous two-month period that included threats of park shutdowns, protests and the possible closing of a West County satellite office, council members sign off on a $357 million budget.
The St. Louis County Council has approved a $357 million budget that spares county parks and averts the shutdown of a satellite office in West County. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the budget plan will include cuts in staff through layoffs and through allowing vacant positions to remain unfilled — including 10 positions in the county police department. The Post says those positions do not include patrol officers. The cuts could involve as many as 50 employees. “That won’t be decided until January, where we’re at with those positions,” councilman Mike O’Mara, D-Florissant, told KMOX. The biggest hit is likely to come from the parks department; while no parks will be closed, the department budget is down from $26 million to $22.6 …
flyoverland
10:50 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Think of how much would be available if Dooley fired all his cronies. more ›