Brentwood officials hash out unpassed budget

Brentwood Mayor Chris Thornton; and aldermen Tom Kramer, Andy Leahy, Steve Lochmoeller, Cindy Manestar, David Plufka and Maureen Saunders met in a ‘workshop’ meeting (less formal than usual board of aldermen meetings) Monday evening at the recreation complex to discuss the 2016 city budget, which didn’t pass in the last meeting in December.

The meeting was to discuss issues the aldermen might have with the 2016 city budget — working toward a budget that will pass. Until that happens the city will be working under the guidelines of the 2015 budget.

Approximately eight residents and an equal number of city firefighters attended the meeting.

The officials worked through, but didn’t resolve, issues involving employee compensation. Leahy said if the 2015 budget is being used, there is no money in the budget for raises. Thornton said the money comes “fresh” — the adopted 2015 budget acts as the new budget, so the funds are there.

After the meeting a resident asked several there, including 40 South News: how — working under the 2015 budget — the city can have money for employee raises but not street resurfacing. Thornton said at the last board of aldermen meeting if the 2016 budget isn’t passed street repair may not happen this summer.

40 South News put the question to Thornton Monday evening by email, and he responded by email:

The resident may have misunderstood. Pursuant to Missouri statute the amounts authorized in 2015 for particular purposes are deemed appropriated for 2016. The budget for 2015 had an appropriation for street resurfacing, but the proposed 2016 budget had quite a bit more. We may be able to do some street resurfacing under the 2015 budget, but we certainly will not be able to do as much as we planned. Same goes for the salaries and other expenses, we are operating under the constraints set forth in the 2015 budget and will continue to do so until a budget is authorized for 2016.

Thornton also responded in the same email to 40 South News to an accusation from Leahy that it was inappropriate for Thornton to use email to communicate with the board of aldermen, since city attorneys have said email should not be used for board communications. Thornton’s response:

I want to make your readers aware of one other thing. Several of the Aldermen (most recently Alderman Leahy at this evening’s meeting) have criticized my practice of sending memoranda to the Board of Aldermen. They have accused me of violating strong admonitions by our City attorneys (past and present) against the conduct of City business via Email. I would like to state for the record: I am in complete agreement with our attorneys that members of the Board should refrain from discussing City business outside of our public meetings. My communications to the Board of Aldermen are pursuant to my duties as set forth in RSMo Chapter 79.210:

Mayor–communications to board.

79.210. The mayor shall, from time to time, communicate to the board of aldermen such measures as may, in his opinion, tend to the improvement of the finances, the police, health, security, ornament, comfort and general prosperity of the city.

(RSMo 1939 § 7105)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 6955; 1919 § 8406; 1909 § 9308

I have provided copies of these memoranda to local media in the interest of transparency and to inform our citizens on issues I believe are important to the City and its future.

The board also discussed possibly removing the position of customer service ‘manager’ ($89,000, salary and benefits). A customer service ‘clerk’ is also on the budget, with a total salary of $53,000.  Kramer said that in the past, one person always answered the phone when anyone called the city. Now that person is gone, and several different employees can answer, resulting in the caller often not being taken care of sufficiently. He said someone making much less (possibly $15/hour) could take care of this and associated duties.

Saunders said she would like to remove pension benefits for elected officials; that no other comparable city in the area does this. She would also like to remove city health benefits employees receive after they’ve left city employment but before they turn 65.

At the end, Kramer asked Thornton if amendments could be made to the budget that could be voted on in a regular meeting. Thornton said it would need to come under a new bill, but wants to wait until there is agreement. He said he doesn’t want a “wide open free-for-all” in a meeting — to have it come up and be voted down again.