Retired police officers demand state audit of county books
Monday, April 06, 2009
Some retired members of the St. Louis County Police Department are on the job again and looking for the public's help in making their case.
The St. Louis County Police Retirees Association, with help from the St. Louis County Police Officers Association, is carrying out a petition drive to bring in Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee for an audit of the county's financial records.
The Retirees Association wants an audit because it says St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and the county administration have failed to provide accurate information to the association about the county's finances.
They believe the county has made significant financial gains and has the money to pay them COLA (cost of living allowance) increases.
St. Louis County officials say an outside auditing firm carries out an annual audit so another audit by the state would not be a problem.
State law requires the association to gather 28,148 valid signatures of St. Louis County registered voters to trigger an audit. If an audit is carried out, St. Louis County would be responsible for the $900,000 to $1.2 million tab.
John "Denny" Robertson, vice president of the St. Louis County Police Retirees Association, also said the county has under-reported revenue from the sale of the former St. Louis County Correctional facility in Chesterfield as well as revenue from an early payoff of a tax increment finance deal in Chesterfield.
The association claims the county has under-reported money received from the settlement of the cell phone tax lawsuit last year and the cost of carrying out the countywide trash district plan.
Robertson said the impetus for the group's petition drive was an April 2008 Retirees Association meeting with Dooley in which he told them he could not give a COLA increase because there was only $440,000 to $500,000 left in the budget until more tax revenue was collected in fall 2008.
The association said the county's outside auditing firm stated in its audit results that the county had $223 million in total fund balances at the end of 2007.
"The more we became involved in this, it became more and more apparent that St. Louis County received more monies than they are claiming they have received," Robertson said. "It appears that they are misstating or not providing factual accounting to the citizenry of St. Louis County."
St. Louis County Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls said "our books are open."
The charges that Dooley told the Retiree's Association there wasn't enough money in county coffers while the $223 million was available were disputed by Earls.
"I think I was at that meeting and I didn't hear (Dooley) say that," Earls said. "Maybe he had another meeting with them that I didn't attend, but I do not recall any discussion that referred to $400,000."
The County's retirement plan has been "injured just like the rest of the retirement plans of the world," Earls said, and until it can recover, "giving a cost of living adjustment for our retirees is just not really something that we can do."
The only alternative for the county is to take the COLA increase out of the general fund and put it into the retirement fund, Earls said.
Asked if funding COLA could be accomplished, Earls said "Well, it could. I could lay off 40 police officers and sell their (patrol) cars."
"That's the choice I'm left with," Earls said. "I don't have the money sitting around somewhere just collecting dust."
Members of both the Retirees Association and the St. Louis County Police Officers Association began canvassing polling places April 7 and will continue to canvas at locations throughout St. Louis County.