South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Nieder candidate of fiscal restraint in Ward 4

To the editor:

For those Crestwood Ward 4 voters who are still undecided after reading the candidate questionnaires in last week’s edition of the Call, here is some helpful advice: Where city finances are concerned, if you liked Steve Nieder’s responses, vote for Steve Nieder.

If you liked John Foote’s responses, vote for Steve Nieder. By examining both candidates’ actions with respect to their expressed positions, it becomes clear that while Mr. Foote pays lip service to cutting expenses, his actions do not support his words.

As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Foote is among the first to be able to recommend changes to proposed budgets. In this financial oversight role, Mr. Foote has twice accepted budgets that were not balanced. As an alderman, Steve Nieder’s votes on financial matters consistently reflected his view that the city needed to be run as efficiently as possible, and that better planning, not repeated requests for tax increases, was the most responsible way to overcome financial hurdles.

Nowhere is Mr. Foote’s unwillingness to act on his own views more evident than in his recent vote not to terminate the Prop S property tax. As a resident, Mr. Foote in 2006 elicited a promise from the Board of Aldermen to sunset the tax once the debt for which it was levied was paid off.

That debt was eliminated a few weeks ago, yet Mr. Foote chose to ignore the request he made of the board four years ago.

Please help ensure that efforts to restore fiscal restraint in the city are supported in word and deed by voting for Steve Nieder on April 6.

Martha Duchild

Crestwood

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