The St. Louis County Council held a Committee of the Whole Meeting last week to discuss a proposal to change the county’s current system of government from a county executive-centered one to one led by a county manager.
Seventh District Councilman Mark Harder, R-Ballwin, a critic of County Executive Sam Page, introduced legislation to allow voters to decide on implementing a county manager system of government in the Nov. 5 general election.
Currently, the county’s Charter requires a full-time county executive who appoints a staff, including a chief of operations and a chief of staff, to manage daily operations, with the county executive actively involved in leadership.
The proposed change would make the county executive role largely ceremonial, similar to a mayor in a city with a city administrator, with a county manager taking charge of daily operations, overseeing county facilities, programs and staff, and assisting the County Council in policy creation and financial decisions, much like a city administrator handles city operations.
Third District Councilman Dennis Hancock, former mayor of Fenton, a municipality that operates with a city manager, said the proposal was “an interesting concept” but not something to rush into.
“I think that as a concept, this is good. I think it’s an interesting concept as somebody who has worked inside of this concept in a municipality. I’ve seen it work,” Hancock said. “But as with anything else … the devil is in the details … This is not something that we want to rush through.”
The county Charter Commission considered the concept of a county manager in 2019, but the vote on whether to present the proposal to voters ended in a tie, falling short of the required threshold to make it onto the ballot.
The proposal had backing from members of the council at that time, including 6th District Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-Oakville, and former 3rd District Councilman Tim Fitch, R-Fenton. Supporters of the county manager system who spoke at the 2019 public Charter Commission meetings included Sunset Hills Mayor Pat Fribis, Crestwood 3rd Ward Alderman Grant Mabie and Crestwood City Administrator Kris Simpson, who spoke again in support of the proposal at the August Committee of the Whole meeting. Simpson is also the president of the St. Louis Area City/County Management Association.
“Our organization exists to support and promote professional city managers with the idea that it’s a way to better service the public … This form of government is a very effective way to run a large organization, be it a city or a county,” Simpson said. “It’s really intended to model a structure used by corporations where the board of directors would hire an experienced CEO … If things aren’t working out, the board of directors makes a change and hires a new CEO. You don’t have to wait years for the next election.”
Per Harder’s proposal, a county manager would be appointed for a four-year term and focus on running the day-to-day operations of the county. This would include managing departments, hiring and firing staff and making sure everything runs efficiently. The manager would enforce contracts, oversee the budget and keep the County Council informed. The manager would be expected to attend council meetings, give reports and suggest improvements to county government. If the manager leaves or is removed from the role, a new one would be appointed as outlined in the county Charter.