The sound of an old telephone ringing coming from where Mayor Pat Kelly sat interrupted the Brentwood Board of Aldermen meeting Monday in the middle of the first open comments portion of the meeting.
Kelly looked around, apparently as surprised as anyone about the sound.
After a few rings Kelly reached down and picked up a red handset and put it to his ear. After long enough for someone to have told him a few sentences Kelly hung the phone up and continued the meeting with no comment. He never spoke into the phone.
The call was from a Brentwood dispatcher, according to Alderwoman Cindy Manestar in an email to her constituents, and which she allowed 40 South News to publish.
For all of you that were present at the board of alderman meeting last night…do you remember when the mysterious red phone rang and the mayor answered? Well mystery solved!
The individual on the other end was none other than one of our Brentwood dispatchers. He was calling from the dispatch center in Brentwood to let the mayor know that he was “watching over the meeting and providing security.”
He went on to say, “We watch all the meetings and in the event of another Kirkwood like situation… we the dispatchers are the ones who would provide the resources for the safety and security of the Board of Alderman and citizens of the City of Brentwood.” He then asked the Mayor if “ECDC would provide this service to the Board and Citizens.”
See Kelly answer the call at 1:02:30 in the YouTube of the Feb. 3 board of aldermen meeting.
See also:
Please keep our dispatchers in brentwood. They do so much more than answer emergency calls. Watching over those meetings to assure the safety of everyone in attendance is only one example. We don’t want to be a part of a busy dispatch vented and have our police and fire sent to the wrong location.
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/02/07/fire-department-wrong-home-florissant/5290915/
john – again, you did not volunteer, looking at your past post, Alderman Robertson, your friend ask you to be a part of P&Z. He was up front with you about how it worked and what you would receive as compensation. Again, this is based on your past posts on other issues.
I simply think it is important for you to be transparent in your posts and to let Brentwood citizens know that you receive a paycheck from Brentwood to pay you for your services. Given this FACT, you are not a volunteer, you are a paid employee of Brentwood.
Brad Where you there when I volunteered to sit on the commisson and was appointed by the BOA How do you know what I know, as I do not even know me. What are your comments aobut the call or the dispachers situation as that is what the artical was about.
I meant to say ” as I do not even know you” not ME
Pat Kelly’s response ” an act of loyalty to friends” in regards to the letter sent by many of the Brentwood police officers, is discrediting to their knowledge as police officers. If I remember correctly, Mr. Kelly sent a letter to the St. Louis County Judge handling Chris Seemayer’s case, asking they not sentence Mr. Seemayer to jail time. Was that a demonstration of “loyalty to a friend”, or were you acting on your professional obligation as Mayor to the City of Brentwood?
The monetary savings to our city of Brentwood is approximately $400k a year. Is the $400k savings more important than saving worth the life of one of a Brentwood resident? I don’t think so! If something already works fine why change it. It seems the majority of our dedicated police officers spending their time on the streets prefer too keep what we already have. Their life also depends on the current system which is sufficient. This is all I must say for now, but, hope to see all opponents at the next Board meeting. I apologize for missing the last meeting. Semper Fi
It seems that a big help in finding money is to post on the bond that was nixed before. In my opinion that “chat” should not have been behind closed doors since last city administrator is not an employee. On top of that there are small amounts around that we as a city should rein in. When I listened to some of the frivolous spending our city is giving away I was furious! The one that stuck out a LOT to me was the outrageous car allowances the new city administrator and her assistant get EVERY month. Even the state auditor thought the amount they get was unwarranted for a city of approximately 3 square miles. So why are we giving the new city administrator and assistant benefits that are unwarranted except as a way to add to add to their income. Did not Mayor Kelly and the BOA learn anything from NOT having a watchful and realistic eye on our administration?
Pat Kelly’s response to the letter from some of the Brentwood Police, asking to keep their dispatchers, is a bit hypocritical. Our Mayor’s response (written letter) to the St. Louis County Judge regarding the sentencing of Chris Seemayer for the crime of embezzlement,, was “an act of loyalty to a friend.” ,
how much could we save if we stopped paying our “Volunteers” to volunteer? If every person serving on some type of board such as P&Z is receiving a stipend perhaps we can save enough to keep what the city really needs and that is a strong safety system.
John, enough already. I think we can all agree that the dispatcher probably made a bad decision to make that call, but the dispacthers are fighting for thier jobs. They are under a tremendous amount of pressure not knowing if they will have a job and on top of that they are still doing a highly stressful job. I think under the circumstances we all would have done the same thing. SO LEAVE IT ALNONE AND MOVE ON. This is about saving the Dispatchers!
You do have to read any of my posts or comment on them if you do not want to. I is just unfortunate you did not use your real name and hide behind your anonymity. What are you afraid of ? the fact you agree with me that the dispatchers made a bad decision to make the call and like me would be chastised for being vocal with my opinion. Stress is a fact of life in many professions not just dispatchers but it should never be used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior.
John – you must have been hiding under a rock, you completely lost me when you said “trust” our leaders. Remember we did and what did it get us, falsified time cards, charity golf tournament donations from a tournament that lost money, credit cards used by city employees to avoid sales tax, benefits awarded to the Mayor and Alderman against city ordinances, no inventory audit for five years again against city ordinance, attendance pay which violated state law, and then there was that gambling thingy.
Trust them, are you kidding me.
John, you do not have an honest opinion as all your thoughts are tainted by the fact that these people pay you. Of course you are going to bat for the hand that feeds you. Your posts ring hollow when we now know that you are not a volunteer and in fact on the Brentwood payroll. No one would expect you to be critical of your boss, still don’t make a fool of yourself by telling all of us to trust these people. They threw trust out the window by violated our trust leading to a disaster of an audit.
Alethia I is amazing how little you know about me and and I do not know you at all. There have been problems for sure and they should not be forgotten about but everyone wants to go back in the past because that is the popular thing to do now days. My question to you you would be , what does that have to do with my opinion about using City equipment and disrupting an official meeting in progress. Is it OK to do things inappropraiely now just because thing were done in the past by people that do not work for city any longer. If you do not trust the mayor or your alderman vote them out as they are the ones that run out city and they are going to make decisions that sometimes you or I will not like but it does not mean that every decision is bad for the city. That is why there is 8 alderman (3 new ones voted in at the last election) and the Mayor. I do certainly do not agree with everything the Mayor or the BOA, just ask them, and do not forget that alot of good things happened in the past that all Citizens benefit from..
John – why do you keep calling yourself a volunteer, you are paid, end of story. I volunteer my time at a food pantry and don’t get a nickel, that is volunteering. You are a paid member of P&Z, using your position to lobby for your personal wants.
You are so far gone you do not even admit the truth that you are paid.
Another example of what is wrong with folks that stay around to long, reality no longer exists in their minds.
Lindsay
Where you there when I volunteered to sit on the commisson and was appointed by the BOA before I even knew we got paid a very miminal amound montly. I have never hidden the fact and I do not do this for the pay.
hughh?? Volunteer means no compensation, barter or gratuity. What am I missing?
Whoever supervises P&Z members should have reprimanded Mr Nuernberger for being a lobbyist for his personal beliefs. A person taking tax dollars from the citizens should make his decisions based on facts and not let out he has a personal agenda which taints their view of projects.
People representing citizens of Brentwood need to leave their beliefs behind and serve the community not their own self interest.
Censure yourself John,
I have not misused my position ever as a volunteer member of the P&Z of which there a 12 members and my view on projects was what I was asked to give. My time and effort is to make the city a better place to live. You can volunteer and let your voice be heard if you choose. It is called freedom of speach and I have the right to my opinion as a citizen of Brentwood.
I know we don’t regularly agree, Mr. Nuernberger–but you absolutely DO have a right to your opinion. I for one, appreciate the voluntary role you take in keeping a sound Brentwood. Thank you.
john – for you to condone this is insulting, given you are on P&Z and have spent plenty of posting time, giving your opinion on subject matter relating to city business. You telling someone else not to use their position to do the same, I find to be quite hypocritical. You have used your position to lobby what you wanted, when many find that your doing so is completely inappropriate. In other communities your actions would have never been allowed.
For you to decide the ground rules for others to follow is a display of your no longer having a clue.
You are a typical city official that needs to go. When it fits your agenda it is okay, when it does not it is wrong.
Step aside John you are too tainted to continue to serve and take our tax dollars
Chris
I just do not agree with the way it was done, and disrupting an official meeting and people should be held accountalbe. I do not have a positon either way on the dispach situation. The people that got up and spoke on camera, giving thier name and address for the record presented themselves and thier cause appropriatly and I think they are passionate about this as I would be if I were in jeopody of loosing my job.
Hello Sarah, get me the court house. Andy Taylor 1964.
Hello, Who, me, who, where are you? What? Yes. Where? Really? ……..Insert Name Here
As far as the Kirkwood situation, the city hall where the killer took his victims was across the parking lot from the police station. A police officer was walking across the lot, several responded when the alarm was sounded and the response time was good. Truth is the city tried to accommodate the killer, bent over backwards trying to keep him happy. Let him attend meetings and insult everyone, hoot and holler, make strange animal noises, wear a sandwich board sign. In the end the guy was just unhinged and mentally ill. No amount of advance planning would have stopped his rampage. Perhaps a metal detector at the door but I bet he would have just killed the attendant.
So, dispatchers monitoring a city meeting, cant hurt. However as we’ve discovered in Desert Storm, WTC, and numerous other locations around the globe if a person is willing to sacrifice their life in pursuit of killing innocent people the really isn’t much that society can do.
This tragedy may have been averted if the dispatchers had a working knowledge of who this man was. That would take an in-house dispatcher–as i am sure this is not the first incident having to do with this man. He should have been a known entity in Kirkwood which is not part of what the call center pool provides. That level of familiarity to locals with one kind of medical issue or another can only be done by keeping the dispatchers in-house. Look at the shootings and crimes against persons and property in U-City. Again–local dispatchers would have a sense of threat before any criminal activity was perpetrated. My fear here is that the overly inflated ego and desire to control by the mayor will only harden his resolve to do what HE wants–not what is best for Brentwood. Maybe a little Irish spite here…Nothing surprises me anymore as City Hall is infected with a deaf ear to residents’ wills. Again, unacceptable.
Everybody “hears” things… I say consider the source and their motivation. I do not fault pd members for trying save jobs, but, when your life is on the line, who saves your butt? The fire dept… When seconds matter. Where are their complaints? There are none. Have some respect for the residents of the other cities. Where are their complaints? Clayton, Webster, Richmond Heights? They’ve been in since ’04! Do you think those cities would have continued a poor program? Really?
If you do your research, you’ll take the facts into consideration.
Those cities consolidated for budgetary reasons and when Olivette joined it was behind closed doors (like brentwood attempted to do). I can bet you Olivette residents had no idea it was happening and it wasn’t presented in an open meeting with the public, or it’s likely their residents would have been just as upset and concerned as Brentwood residents are now. Interestingly enough it’s better to keep residents in the dark I suppose, at least for ECDC. When Kirkwood discussed a proposal from ECDC in an open forum it was completely rejected. Brentwood wanted to keep their discussions with ECDC quiet and in closed meetings where their council members wouldn’t be permitted to discuss it. Keep the residents in the dark so they can’t make noise and protest. As far as the fire personnel not showing their support for the Brentwood dispatchers – all I can say to that is Ted Jury. I don’t think he likes his firemen having an opinion that differs from his. Maybe next time he’ll listen to the real firemen when they tell him not to test a fire hose inside a building.
I do not have a strong opinion about the Dispatchers and the outsourcing and I know it is not popualar opinion but we have to trust our city officials to do what is best for our city whether you like them personally or not. That is what they were elected for and if you do not like the decisions they make vote them out at the next election, that is houw the systems works.
I do however feel stronglly about the situation about the call. I think it was inappropriate stating that someone was “watching over the meeting” That is the police departments job not the dispachers and I think that the persons or persons and thier supervisors that were responsible should be held accountalbe. Disrupting an official meeting in that wayis a disgrace. If there are cameras or that phone was there for emergencies like in Kirkwood I would think the mayor and the whole BOA would know about that and I cannot belive t was used in such a manner by an employee of the city. Would anyone allow a fire alarm to be pulled to make a point as to me that was the same thing. Whoever supervises those dispacters should be taking immediate disiplinary action and they should not be allowed to work for our city. .
I have to disagree sir. It is the dispatchers job, as somebody in a separate location can monitor the meeting without getting hurt themselves. They can then dispatch appropriate resources. The point of the call was because neither Pat and Bola knew that the dispatchers provided this service. It was pretty obvious that Pat didn’t even know that the phone was there.
They still should have not used it that way and it was inappropriate. Using official equipment to support a political cause should not be condoned in any fashion.
I view it as the dispatcher using official equipment to alert the mayor to a service that they provide that he didn’t know about.
Please Mr. Nuernberger—do you mean really “inappropriate” or just bloody embarrassing –When top official do not even know what is going on–and they are in charge of making decision–NOW THAT’S INAPPROPRIATE.
Two seperate issues. If the Mayor and BOA did not know they were on camera at all meetings that is one issue and the police would be responsible for telling them how they are being protected and would be embarassing that they did not know. I sit on the P&Z commission and attend meetings there every month and I did know the meetings were being watched and I appreciate the fact that there is another layer of security.
What is inapproprate is using the emergency phone for a non emergency issue to futher a cause that was being discussed which disrupted an official meeting. That should never be allowed by anyone.
Quite frankly what do they have to lose, their jobs…really? That’s what they’re fighting for. And honestly the only person that should no longer be permitted to work for the city is you sir. Haven’t you ranted in the comment section enough for 2 individual lifetimes! I know,I know, you’re P&Z…you’re special.
I don’t think there’s any need for personal attacks. Mr. N has an opinion that differs from ours. I’ll say he’s wrong, but there’s no need to attack him. Save that for Kelly and the aldermen who vote for this.
Thank you Brandon Jones as I know how passtionte you are on this subject and I hope the BOA listen to your positon and the others who spoke and make the best decision for the whole community of Brentwood. I am used to Personal attacks are expected when you state an unpopular opinion on an article and I can replaced if the the BOA if they think I am serving my city inappropriately. I just think it is appropriate to tell who I am and why I have a particular opinon.
great post.
The call on the red phone put an ‘exclamation point’ on the views of the people. Keep the dispatchers inhouse..
Wonder why all those residents in Clayton, Maplewood, Webster Groves, Richmond Heights, Shrewsbury & Olivette aren’t complaining? Most of them have had ECDC dispatch since ’04. Fear mongering doesn’t work. Take a good look at your neighbors. Make the call. You might find the only frightened people are those manipulated by conspirorists.
Why do you call it fear mongering? I call it presenting facts. Unless you are calling our police officers liars. They say that that have routinely heard it take ECDC 5-15 minutes to put out a call that was routed to them. They say that in speaking to police officers in other municipalities, that those officers tell them that ECDC is a mess. Are the police officers lairs, sir?
Applying a negative, emotionally charged label (fear mongers) to those who do not agree with an issue is a manipulation to undermine people’s confidence in speaking up. I have heard over and over, on varying issues that the Citizens DO NOT FEEL THEY ARE LISTENED TO. City Hall is very dysfunctional at this time and specifically in regards to really hearing what the people want.. Ordinances: don’t matter. Rules: don’t matter. Waivers on long standing rules and ordinances to advance projects the citizens are against–done and over-done.
Bottom line is THE CITIZENS DON’T MATTER to City Hall. They just want what they want. However the more informed the regular citizens become (ie re dispatchers being replace by a call center pool) the more people dislike the issue. Brentwood deserves more than the widely publicized and embarrassing chaos driven by an administration that does NOT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.
I am a high-priority advocate for First Responders. When members of the BPD wrote to keep the dispatchers inhouse, Pat called it an act of loyalty to friends; a complete wash over legitimate safety concerns BY those who are on the front lines. Where is his head? The dismissive attitude he takes is insulting and condescending to the public. He continues to fight against the very people he is supposed to represent. That is unacceptable. And to those who pass off critical thinking on these issues saying “let the elected officials do their jobs…” I call that intellectual laziness. The mayor and City Hall is out of touch with it’s own constituency. That also is unacceptable. I am just glad MORE people are getting involved in righting the indifference of a mayor whose process is cronyism and providing only enough information to the public to make his case plausible. CRITICAL THINKERS ARE A THREAT TO THIS GROUP. Pat, quit embarrassing Brentwood and start listening to the residents.
They aren’t complaining because they didn’t have a choice. Brentwood does have a choice. The real people you need to talk to are the current police and fire from maplewood, webster, clayton, shrewsbury, richmond heights and olivette. Of course they probably won’t give you their names because the fear you talk about is them not wanting to lose their jobs after they tell you the truth about how BAD it is!
Here is a link for the petition to put a stop to this outsourcing nonsense: http://chn.ge/1apjmqJ
Great service to our entire city! I cannot imagine that the outsourcing will provide this service. If they are already doing coverage for several cities I cannot imagine that this service is offered. Yea! I doubt anyone had remembered that the dispatchers do this to protect our city! Thank you Brentwood dispatchers for keeping our elected officials and citizens safe!
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