District 6 Councilman Mike Archer, R-Oakville, hosted a town hall on Jan. 7 at Friendly’s Sports Bar & Grill. The wide-ranging conversation touched on front-of-mind issues for South County residents — local law enforcement, the county’s ongoing budget crises and the relocation of county headquarters further north — among others.
Locals also had the chance to connect with Archer about personal issues in their neighborhoods and subdivisions, receiving guidance from the councilman on next steps. District 3 Councilman Dennis Hancock, R-Fenton, was also in attendance.
According to Archer, he hosts similar town halls on a quarterly basis. He is currently striving to find a way to publicize information on when and where these town halls will be, but he encourages his constituents to keep a lookout.
Law enforcement on expired tags, homelessness encampments
Temporary tags were brought up as a concern by one of the residents, regarding the issue of drivers using expired “temp tags” and not registering their vehicles. These unregistered vehicles affect county revenue as personal property taxes aren’t declared on the vehicle. Archer says this has been an ongoing discussion on a state and local level, and that local police captains are pushing their traffic officers to bring more “aggressive enforcement” to the temp tags issue.
“In talking with the 3rd and 4th (precincts) down here, Captain (Brian) Schellman and Captain (Guy) Means, I know they are taking a very aggressive approach on prosecuting those cases,” Archer said. “Those people will be fined, and there’s a possibility of even losing their plates — the plates being taken off of the cars completely.”
In regards to increased police action, Archer brought up the topic of homeless encampments. He said that he gets calls regularly about these encampments, which are usually on MODOT property; Archer’s office must discuss with MODOT before moving people off the property. According to Archer, officers go to encampments 24-48 hours before dismantling to announce what will happen.
“And they say, ‘Oh, by the way, here are some people that can provide you with resources in terms of food, shelter, a hot meal tonight, a roof over your head. Just break down your encampment and they can tell you where to go,’” Archer said. “It’s not like, all of a sudden, they have no notice, and the bulldozer goes in.”
Archer added, “Captain Schellman, like me, is new. I hate to use the term ‘aggressive’ for a police officer, but he is very meticulous and methodical, and he wants to serve the people of St. Louis County.” Schellman took on the role of captain at the South County Precinct in the summer of 2024, having served for over six years at the precinct beforehand.
Long-term budgeting
One resident spoke, suggesting that the County Council consider making a five-year budgeting plan to use as a guideline for the future. He said that “it feels like every year” the council has to rework the budget or scramble to make up for a deficit; for the proposed 2026 budget, there was a shortfall of $81 million that underwent $48 million in cuts. Reserves and Rams funds covered the rest of the deficit.
The speaking resident hoped for a more long-term solution to recurring budget issues that could map out a way forward.
“The charter says that, every year, the county executive has to send out a proposed budget to the county council,” Archer said. “In terms of a five-year plan, we’re hamstrung by the charter.”
When the resident brought up the idea of a charter amendment to make room for budget planning that would have more longevity, as opposed to the “every year” process between the county executive and the council, Archer said, “I think that’s a really good point.”
Hancock added, “I think (a five-year plan) is something that’s doable. The charter requires that process every year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something outside of that process to use as a roadmap for how to move things forward. But the budget process in St. Louis County — like a lot of other processes in St. Louis County — is broke.”
St. Louis County headquarters relocation
Conversations about the relocation of St. Louis County’s headquarters have returned to the news cycle in recent months as the county has actively searched for a place to go. The current plan is for operations to move to the Crossings at Northwest, a mixed-use commercial area in St. Ann, where there is already a St. Louis County Government Center.
Archer’s constituents discussed this relocation at the town hall. One resident was concerned about how such a move would lengthen the distance between South County residents and their government even further. The current headquarters are located at 41 South Central Avenue in Clayton, an approximately 25-minute commute from The Call’s office in Green Park. The Crossings at Northwest is 27 minutes from The Call.
“People don’t like to travel,” the resident said. “We didn’t like to go to Clayton already for county council meetings when we had something on our minds. Now, to go that much further, our voice is going to get reduced that much more.”
Archer explained that a southwest satellite office, which will be located in either Archer’s or Hancock’s districts, will have “all the facilities you can do at the northwest office,” such as birth or death licenses. This would not include special services or extended meetings with county government departments that operate from the headquarters. Archer said that they are currently in the process of finding a satellite office space and are in negotiations with three locations.
Meetings would continue to be in Clayton, since that is outlined in the county charter. It would be a violation of that charter to meet at the office in St. Ann.
“What we’re talking about doing is possibly taking over the police headquarters,” Archer said. “There’s a police commissioner’s area. We’re talking about meeting over there.”