To the editor:

In our county of a million people, we depend on the government for health, safety, transportation, code enforcement, recreation and more, so we must take ballot changes seriously and avoid long-term remedies for a short-term problem.

On April 8, St. Louis County voters will decide if Proposition B will destroy, not restore, the balance of power that our county government already has. We are being asked by a legislative branch, embroiled in an extended clash with the executive branch, to give them unchecked executive power to fire department heads without cause. County department heads should only have one boss! The remedy for better governance is not changing the charter, but for (County Executive) Dr. (Sam) Page to explore ways to lower the temperature and for the Council to chill out and give the county executive a fighting chance to reconcile differences. Cooler heads can and must prevail.

I am speaking from experience, with 32 years of legislative service on the Florissant City Council and eight years as the full-time mayor. I know the frustration of a council member with a full-time mayor and the challenges as mayor with sometimes-hostile council members to chart the best path forward. The Florissant Charter kept us in our lanes. By rejecting Prop B, voters can send a strong message demanding that the County Council and county executive work together to find some level of harmony to get things done that will benefit all of us going forward without destroying the existing balance of power.

Thomas P. Schneider 

St. Louis County

Editor’s note: Thomas Schneider served as the mayor of Florissant from 2011 to 2019 and as a Florissant City Council member from 1979 to 2011.