County Direct Newsletter-April 2012
A Message From Charlie A. Dooley, County Executive
I was extremely pleased to celebrate the passage of the countywide proposition, Proposition S. In the worst of economic times many of us have seen in our lifetimes, we asked the citizens of St. Louis County to approve a $100 million bond issue to improve our infrastructure and help the family justice system of St. Louis County. County voters responded with nearly a 60% approval because we believe that we must invest in ourselves, it is the right thing to do, and this administration has the county's confidence to do it right...on time and on budget. Citizens chose to reinvest in our infrastructure, and thus our future as a region. It means we can now begin to turn our antiquated and failing courts buildings into 21st Century judicial structures that will be equipped with all of the features required in today’s justice administration.
The voters’ approval also addresses the thorny issue of escalating costs to maintain our aging infrastructure. This year we will spend more than $750,000 on band-aid maintenance for the two courthouse facilities. There is an additional $300,000+ project in our budget to make repairs to the crumbling concrete decks and columns in our courthouse parking garage. These repairs are not enough to provide long-term solutions. In fact, there is every reason to believe that on-going maintenance costs will continue to rise and expensive garage repairs will still be needed.
Simply put, our existing court facilities are being used in a manner well beyond what the original plans called for and technology and security issues are only getting worse. Case filings in St. Louis County Courts have increased nearly 500% since the buildings were built in the early 1970s from 23,587 to 103,000 in 2011. And, law enforcement referrals to juvenile court in St. Louis County are now greater than the number of referrals from the City of St. Louis, Jackson County (Kansas City) and St. Charles County combined.
Once again, I am reminded why I love my job; because I work every day for a community that believes in itself and continues to see its best days ahead.
Read the April 2012 County Direct Newsletter to learn more.