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January Membership Meeting
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When: Thursday, January 26, 2023
Where: Frontenac City Hall, 10555 Clayton Road, Frontenac, MO (MAP)
Time: 6:30pm Refreshments
7:00pm Meeting
We are pleased the City of Frontenac will host the January Membership Meeting. Thank you, Mayor Hatfield!
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Program: Chief James Cavins and Captain Mike DeFoe with the Town and Country Police Department and Clayton Police Chief Mark Smith will discuss an initiative to establish a St. Louis County Crime Task Force.
Over the past few years, the St. Louis Region has seen a significant increase in stolen cars and other criminal activity, much of which is committed by juveniles. Chief Cavins and several other Chiefs, working in conjunction with the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs' Association have initiated a Crime Task Force to work in collaboration with St. Charles County Departments that have had a Task Force in place for two years. St. Charles County’s task force has reduced stolen cars by over 40%. Chief Cavins coordinated the first saturation patrol with several St. Louis County departments and St. Louis County Police this this past November. The one-day initiative recovered 5 stolen cars and the arrested 22 felons on outstanding warrants.
Chief Cavins joined the Town and Country Police Department in 2018. He has 30 over years experience in policing. Chief Cavins holds a master’s degree from Webster University and is a 2014 graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Town and Country Police Captain Michael DeFoe has a BA in Organizational Communications and a minor in criminal justice from Missouri State University. He has held the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant and currently serve as Captain/Assistant Chief of Police.
Chief Mark Smith was appointed Chief of the Clayton Police Department in 2020 after serving the department for more than 20 years. Chief Smith has served on the Major Case Squad and as the regional coordinator for law enforcement blood drives. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Lindenwood University in Criminal Justice, Master’s Degree from Lindenwood University in Criminal Justice Administration, and is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy.
This will be a great opportunity to learn about the Crime Task Force initiative and how we can work together to expand task force to help make all of our communities safer.
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More than 110 members attended the Affiliate Open House on November 03. Also in attendance were several elected officials from the St. Charles County and 29 Affiliates that showcased their businesses. Due to the overwhelming support and positive feedback, the Executive Board is planning to make this an annual event.
Below is a list of the Affiliates that participated this year:
| Acumen Consulting |
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MO Department of Conservation |
| Ameren Missouri |
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MoCann Trade Association |
| ArchTech |
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Navigate Building Solutions |
| Charter/Spectrum |
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Planning Design Studio |
| Community America Credit Union |
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Piper Sandler |
| Curtis, Heinz, Garrett & O'Keefe |
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Republic Services |
| Cunningham, Vogel & Rost |
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STL Community Credit Union |
| Flock Safety |
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STL Realtors |
| General Code Corp |
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Simmons Bank |
| Gilmore Bell |
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Spire |
| Great Rivers Greenway |
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Stifel Nicolaus |
| Katy Computers |
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SWT Design |
| McMahon Berger |
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Veregy |
| Metropolitan Sewer Department |
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Weis Group |
| Missouri American Water |
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Senator Brian Williams
Assistant Minority Floor Leader
- Democrat
District 14 - Part of St. Louis County
First elected to the Senate: 2018
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Senator Brian Williams has proudly represented the 14th Senatorial District in St. Louis County since 2018, and he currently serves as the assistant minority floor leader. Senator Williams is the first Black male to serve in the Missouri Senate in two decades. He was drawn to public service after studying government and public health policy, a passion that eventually led him to the U.S. Congress. He worked as a congressional staffer for several years and oversaw Missouri’s rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace under President Obama’s administration.
In his time as a senator, Sen. Williams has created legislation allowing those with sickle cell anemia to access needed pain medication prescriptions; protected individuals’ MO ABLE funds for disability costs; and leads the Capitol’s annual human trafficking awareness day.
During the 2021 legislative session, Sen. Williams passed comprehensive police reforms, Senate Bills 53 & 60, into law. These sweeping criminal justice reforms established the strongest use of force database in the country; prohibit law enforcement from using a respiratory chokehold without deadly force authorization; ensures women offenders have access to free, adequate feminine hygiene products while in a correctional facility or jail; and shortened the delay to request an expungement for those who have paid their debt to society. Senator Williams also added a provision that helps set innocent people free from wrongful imprisonment. This provision allows prosecutors and circuit attorneys to file a motion to vacate convictions if they believe the convicted person is innocent, a change that was instrumental in the 2021 release of Kevin Strickland, who was wrongfully convicted and served time for over 40 years.
During the 2022 legislative session, Sen. Williams proudly secured $98 million for North St. Louis County projects, including $40 million for the University of Missouri-St. Louis to construct the “Campus of the Future;” $15 million to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients; $23 million to build a public safety training facility; $7 million for public transit assistance; $6 million to abate, demolish and repurpose the Jamestown Mall; $4 million to renovate the St. Louis Metro Employment and Training Center in Wellston; and $400,000 for Youth Build Works.
In addition to legislative duties, Sen. Williams serves as a board director for People’s Health Center, where he helped develop a behavioral health care center for underserved children. He is also a member of the advisory boards for St. Louis Crisis Nursery, Simmons Bank, iHeart Media, Nurses for Newborns and the University City Children’s Center. Senator Williams currently resides in University City and is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. |
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The 2023 session begins on January 4. The League will send out weekly updates to keep our members apprised of the latest developments. Below are some of the important prefiled bills that are of interest to local government officials.
SB 161 (Coleman) - provides that retail sales of food shall be exempt from state and local sales taxes. (Oppose)
SB 174 (Koenig) - makes various changes to the Sunshine Law including allowing a public governmental body to close records that are related to email addresses and telephone numbers submitted to a public governmental body by individuals or entities for the sole purpose of receiving electronic or other communications. (Support)
SB 202 (Brattin) - changes the filing period for declarations of candidacy in all political subdivisions and special districts that have not otherwise required a filing period by law or charter to be 8:00 a.m. on the 18th Tuesday prior to the election until 5:00 p.m. on the 13th Tuesday prior to the election. The bill also requires all candidates for offices in cities, towns, villages, and townships to declare a political party affiliation when filing for office. (Oppose)
HB 33 (Brown) - repeals Section 21.750, RSMo, in which the General Assembly preempts the entire field of firearms regulation. This bill allows political subdivisions to regulate firearms in any manner allowed by state and federal law that is consistent with their police powers or charter.
HB 64 (Terry) - establishes term limits of 8 years for 4th class city mayors. Allows monthly stipends for 4th class city elected officials, rather than salaries.
HB 247 (Hurlbert) - allows any municipality to levy a public safety sales tax of up to 1/2 cent, subject to approval by 4/7 of the voters. The bill also allows any city with a fire department, any city contracting for fire service or any fire district (including those in St. Louis County) to levy a fire service sales tax of up to 1/2 cent, subject to 4/7 voter approval. The League supports the sales tax flexibility offered to cities in this bill but has long opposed sales tax authority for County fire districts.
HJR 16 (Seitz) - constitutional amendment to restrict tax increase elections to the general election date, which is November of even numbered years. (Oppose)
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New Affiliate Member Spotlight
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Planning Design Studio (PDS) is an award-winning landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm. Since 2006, PDS has served our municipal clients to create memorable places, strengthen communities, and manage diverse environments.
We believe the best solutions come from a process that involves careful listening, clear communication, and creative collaboration. We value designs that are practical, imaginative, environmentally sustainable, and cost-effective. We strive to bring thoughtful design, technical expertise, and effective leadership to each and every project.
Please check out our projects and talented team members at https://www.planningdesignstudio.com/. Or follow us on social media for recent news!
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Missouri Department of Transportation Cost Share Program
Application deadline: January 27, 2023
MoDOT's Cost Share Program provides financial assistance to public and private applicants for state highway and bridge projects satisfying a transportation need. The purpose of the Cost Share Program is to build partnerships with local entities to pool efforts and resources to deliver state highway and bridge projects. For more information.
Surface Transportation Block Grant Program – Suballocated and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
Application deadline: February 9, 2023
East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) is accepting applications for Surface Transportation Block Grant Program-Suballocated (STP-S) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) projects. STP-S and CMAQ funds are available to eligible Illinois and Missouri sponsors. EWG is hosting three project development workshops to provide information on STP-S and CMAQ, including program eligibility and requirements, project applications, scoring criteria, and available funding. One will be hosted virtually and two will be in-person. Application forms and additional information became available November 4, 2022 here.
Missouri Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program Accepting Applications
Application deadline: March 1, 2023
The Missouri DWSRF provides low-interest loans to municipalities, counties, public water districts, non-for-profit corporations, and investor-owned water utility corporations for drinking water infrastructure projects, including new construction or the improvement or renovation of existing facilities. For more information.
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Construction Inspection Course
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Unanimous Decision for Creve Couer
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JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Supreme Court recently said Creve Coeur officials can block the construction of a convenience store and gas station on the site of an Olive Boulevard strip center.
In a unanimous decision written by Supreme Court Judge George Draper, the court overturned an earlier ruling by St. Louis County Judge Nancy Watkins McLaughlin, who said in July the city did not have the power to deny a special use permit for the construction of a QuikTrip store.
The high court said city ordinances give officials “full authority to deny any request for a conditional use permit. Accordingly, the circuit court erroneously applied the law and improperly overrode the city’s discretion,” Draper wrote in the eight-page ruling.
At issue was whether the property owner who wants to sell to QuikTrip met the city’s listed conditions for receiving a conditional use permit. The city argued some of those conditions are subjective and appealed the county judge’s ruling. Some Creve Coeur residents opposed the proposed QuikTrip at the southwest corner of Olive Boulevard and Graeser Road, and the city council in 2020 voted against issuing the required permit for the project. The property owner sued, arguing it had met all of the standards in the city’s conditional use permit ordinance. The city argued that the QuikTrip did not meet its comprehensive plan’s standards, giving it the discretion to deny the permit.
An appeals court disagreed with the city, citing testimony from Creve Coeur Director of Community Development Jason Jaggi, who said, “complete compliance with every single component of the Comprehensive Plan is neither possible nor necessary,” and that QuikTrip was “generally consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.”
Original story: Creve Coeur said no to a new QuikTrip, citing traffic concerns. But a judge overruled the city.
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Spire Receives Certificate
for STL Pipeline
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 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late December voted to reissue a certificate for the Spire STL Pipeline on a permanent basis, citing the importance of the natural gas pipeline in the Eastern Missouri region.
"There was substantial evidence in the record to confirm that the Pipeline has delivered strong performance, reduced costs and improved natural gas reliability across the St. Louis region – even during severe weather challenges like Winter Storm Uri in 2021," president of the Spire STL Pipeline Scott Smith said in a statement.
The gas pipeline, which caters to at least 650,000 homes in St. Louis, was running on a temporary certificate from the commission since Dec. 3, 2021.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had vacated the certificate originally issued by FERC last December.
The DC circuit favored the Environmental Defense Fund, which scrutinized the commission's decision for issuing the certificate, and said FERC had not examined the project and its market need thoroughly.
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MAP Local Government
Expenditure Database Created
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Last year, the Missouri General Assembly passed and the Governor signed House Bill 271 into law effective August 28, 2021. This new legislation in Sections 37.1090 – 37.1098 requires the Missouri Local Government Expenditure Database to be created and maintained on the Missouri Accountability Portal by the Office of Administration. The database shall include information about expenditures made during each fiscal year that begins after December 31, 2022, by a municipality or county.
On October 6, 2022, the State’s Accountability Portal was updated to accept the submission of local government expenditures. A municipality or county may choose to participate voluntarily, or, if a requisite number of residents of a municipality or county request the municipality or county to participate, such jurisdiction shall participate in the Missouri Local Government Expenditure Database. Additional details regarding the requisite number may be found in Section 37.1094, RSMo.
A user link for the local government portion of the portal will be available at
https://mapyourtaxes.mo.gov/MAP/LocalGovEx/HomePage.aspx. In order to submit local government expenditure information, an entity will need to visit the portal website and obtain a secure username and password. Once credentials are granted, a user may enter the site to enter or update local government expenditure information.
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Calendar of Upcoming Events
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| January 26, 2023 |
League Meeting |
Frontenac |
| February 23, 2023 |
League Meeting |
Olivette |
| March 23, 2023 |
League Meeting |
Ferguson |
| April 27, 2023 |
League Meeting |
UMSL |
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