51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The city sheriff鈥檚 office went before aldermen this week to make its case for money to buy golf carts.

It was not well received: Alderman Matt Devoti, of the Hill, said he couldn鈥檛 see why deputies would need them.

But Sheriff Alfred Montgomery鈥檚 office already had golf carts.聽

Blake Lawrence, a top aide to Montgomery, confirmed at least two acquisitions Wednesday, and said there may be four. He said the carts cost $10,000 in total.

Devoti, reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, was surprised to hear it. 鈥淥h my God,鈥� he said with a hint of exasperation. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 news to me.鈥�

It鈥檚 the latest move of note for the newly elected sheriff. Since taking office in January, he has made headlines for having a top jail official arrested, telling a deputy to roll golden dice for his job and having a deputy .

But the golf carts marked his first run-in with the budget process. The issue sprang up Tuesday, when the office went before aldermen to make its case for a bigger budget in the upcoming fiscal year.

Devoti, a newly elected alderman, said he鈥檇 heard a requested increase in the office鈥檚 fleet budget was meant for golf carts. And he didn鈥檛 understand why: Much of the sheriff鈥檚 business occurs at two downtown courthouses that sit across the street from each other, and a jail that sits just south of them. The office has SUVs and vans to drive elsewhere.

Montgomery鈥檚 aides argued that deputies have other responsibilities: at another courts building in Grand Center, at hospitals, and elsewhere downtown, where deputies work security during the summer months.

Aldermen were unconvinced.

And it wasn鈥檛 clear the golf carts had been purchased. Lawrence, the aide, told Devoti in the hearing that the office hadn鈥檛 had them in the past, and that the money requested would help buy carts for the future.

He did not mention that the office already had some, and was not directly asked.

But in an interview Wednesday, Lawrence cast the purchases as no big deal. The police department has golf carts, too, he said, and they鈥檙e more expensive.

Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, who chairs the aldermanic budget committee, remained dubious.

The police department, which provides law enforcement across the city, is different, he said.

Later, Montgomery himself defended the carts on social media. He said they would look better on security details downtown.聽

Past practice 鈥� using cargo vans with flashing lights 鈥� could be 鈥渃ounterproductive to the image we strive to uphold for our city.鈥澛�

He said the carts are electric, too.

That made Aldridge feel a little better.聽

Maybe, he said, the city can save some money on gas.聽