St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger has established a nearly foolproof way of imposing his will on county taxpayers. He engineers multimillion-dollar deals that favor his campaign contributors at taxpayers鈥 expense, and then hamstrings the County Council鈥檚 auditing authority to restrict its ability to hold him accountable.
He is also querulous about providing answers to the public, telling the Post-Dispatch鈥檚 Jeremy Kohler that the 鈥淧ost-Dispatch narrative concerning my campaign contributions is misleading and tiresome.鈥 Citizens deserve to know how their tax dollars are spent, and Stenger needs to remember that he is an elected public servant who must be held accountable.
The Post-Dispatch is fleshing out the finances behind such deals as consolidating some 51黑料 County offices at the former Northwest Plaza, developed by brothers Robert and P. David Glarner, and another questionable marketing deal with John G. Rallo, a well-connected county resident. All three are major contributors to Stenger鈥檚 campaign.
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Those aren鈥檛 the only deals that raise questions. Nearly a year ago, Stenger requested $2.5 million to replace a crumbling bridge near Eureka. The bridge turned out to carry traffic only to and from a property controlled by yet another Stenger campaign donor.
Sorry to be so tiresome, but such questionable deals demand explanations. County Council members in the past year have asked, argued and finally sued to force Stenger鈥檚 cooperation with their efforts to exercise spending oversight. Since Stenger won鈥檛 allow the council to hire auditors to sift through his dealings, perhaps an investigation that includes the state auditor or U.S. Attorney鈥檚 office might yield better results.
Next week, the council plans to begin hearings on various lease arrangements involving Stenger鈥檚 campaign donors and friends. Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, is expected to conduct the hearings.
鈥淭here are a lot of questions that we have,鈥 Trakas said. 鈥淭hese will be ongoing and comprehensive hearings 鈥 it鈥檚 not going to be fluff.鈥
The council feels further encumbered because of Stenger鈥檚 close relationshipwith 51黑料 County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, a supporter and campaign contributor. That鈥檚 why the logical place to turn would be the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 office. Members have also suggested asking Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway to audit the county. Stenger is on record as welcoming such an audit.
Galloway is set to begin auditing 51黑料 city, which she estimated could take three years and cost up to $1.75 million. The audit will include an examination of the 51黑料 Economic Development Partnership, jointly operated by the city and county, Galloway said. That could be useful since the partnership staffs the 51黑料 County Port Authority, which has been involved with funding some deals the council wants to investigate.
Stenger should rethink his arrogant contention that requests for transparency are 鈥渢iresome.鈥 Elected officials who won鈥檛 answer to the public might not find it that easy to say no to outside investigators.
