Not surprisingly, Concord resident Dennis Skelton is appealing a recent ruling in which a judge rejected his legal challenge to two tax-rate-decrease measures placed on the April 7 ballot by the Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors.
St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Sandra Hemphill last month twice denied Mr. Skelton’s legal efforts to remove Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 from the April 7 ballot.
Prop 1 asks whether the district’s general-fund tax-rate ceiling should be permanently reduced by 36 cents per $100 of assessed valuation while Prop 2 asks whether the district’s pension-fund tax-rate ceiling would be permanently reduced by 4 cents per $100.
Voter approval of both propositions would save taxpayers nearly $10.5 million per year, according to MFPD board Chairman Aaron Hilmer.
As readers may recall, Mr. Skelton doesn’t believe Mehlville residents should be able to vote to set their tax-rate ceiling as evidenced by the lawsuit he filed two years ago that resulted in a judge removing Proposition TD, or Tax Decrease, from the April 3, 2007, ballot. However, legislation signed in July by then-Gov. Matt Blunt clearly states that such proposals can be placed on the ballot and considered by voters. Mr. Skelton’s legal challenge of that legislation twice was rejected last month by Judge Hemphill, who ruled the new state statute ‘speaks for itself.”
But Mr. Skelton apparently refuses to take “no” for an answer, whether it be from a judge or district voters.
Residents didn’t have a say in Mr. Skelton’s lawsuit, but they later repaid him by trouncing his write-in candidacy for a seat on the MFPD board.
Given that Mr. Skelton’s efforts are not supported by a majority of district residents, who does he represent? He founded the now-defunct Protecting Our Protectors and was backed by Local 1889 of the International Association of Fire Fighters in the 2007 election. The attorneys who represent him also represent Local 1889.
Mr. Skelton’s appeal will not be decided until long after voters consider Prop 1 and Prop 2 in the April election. We believe both measures will be overwhelmingly approved by voters while Mr. Skelton’s appeal will be rejected. We’re disgusted that Mr. Skelton would attempt to overturn the will of the public.
Either that or he simply doesn’t care what the public thinks. But given that Mr. Skelton has never been elected to public office, we’re fairly certain what the public thinks of him and his appeal.
