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September 2022

September Membership Meeting

When: Thursday, September 22, 2022
Where: Town and Country City Hall
1011 Municipal Center Drive
Town and Country, MO 63131 (Map)
Time: 6:30 pm Refreshments
7:00 pm Meeting

We are pleased that incoming House Speaker Dean Plocher will be our guest speaker. He will discuss major issues expected to debated in the upcoming legislative session. Representative Plocher is currently the majority floor leader for the House and will assume the House Speaker position in January. He is a native Saint Louisian who graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School before attending Middlebury College in Vermont. He then returned to Missouri to attend St. Louis University Law School, earning a law degree in 1997.

Representative Plocher also manages his law firm in addition to serving as a Commissioner for the Uniform Law Commission. He served as a Municipal Judge in the 21st Judicial Circuit in 2005 and served on the Board of Directors for the Missouri Municipal and Associate Circuit Judges Association. Representative Plocher is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, the Republican National Lawyers Association, Illinois Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Representative Plocher has served in the Missouri House of Representative for the 89^th District since 2016. He resides in Des Peres, Missouri with his wife and two children.

Legislative Affairs Committee Appointed

The Legislative Affairs Committee reviews and updates the League’s legislative policy statements and recommends the legislative priorities for the upcoming session. The priorities and policy statements convey to legislators major issues being faced by local governments. If you have suggestions for policies for the committee to review, please contact the League office at staff@stlmuni.org. The final report will be presented to the membership at the October League meeting. Committee members are:

Chairman, Mayor David Dimmitt - Brentwood		Councilmember Liz Gibbons - Kirkwood
City Administrator Eric Sterman - Ballwin		Mayor Nikylan Knapper - Maplewood
Councilmember Angela Lawson - Black Jack		Councilmember Kim Baker - Maryland Heights
Councilmember Randy Hein - Bridgeton		Councilmember Missy Waldman - Olivette
Councilmember Merrell Hansen - Chesterfield		Mayor Marty Little - Overland
Mayor Bob Hoffman - Creve Coeur		Mayor Jim Thomson - Richmond Heights
Mayor Ella Jones - Ferguson		City Manager Gregory Rose - University City
Mayor Kate Hatfield - Frontenac		Alderwoman Marcieta Reed - Vinita Park
Councilman Terry Wilson - Jennings		Mayor Laura Arnold - Webster Groves

Special Legislative Session Announced

Governor Mike Parson recently announced that he has issued the official call for a special legislative session for the week of September 12th, 2022. The purpose of the special session is to consider legislation to reduce the individual income tax rate and extend key agriculture tax credit programs for a minimum of six years.

The tax reduction plan includes reducing the individual income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.8%, increasing the standard individual deduction by $2,000 and $4,000 for those filing jointly. The proposal would also include eliminating the bottom income tax bracket.

The second piece of legislation includes the extension and creation of several new agriculture tax credit programs intended to help develop key areas of Missouri's agricultural industry, the state's top economic driver. The credits include sunset previsions, with a minimum of six years.

More information and to see the specific call language (PDF)

MML Conference Hospitality Room

You are Invited! For those attending the MML Annual Conference in mid-September, the Metro League will be hosting a hospitality room throughout the conference. The room number is 1503 and it is on the 5th floor of the Edgewater building, which is attached to the main lobby and meeting room building by a bridge. The room will be open each evening, except during Tuesday's banquet, and during breaks in the conference program. We hope you will be able to stop by to meet with your fellow Metro League officials.

Municipal Park Grants

Round 23 of the annual Municipal Park Grant program closed on Friday, August 26, 2022. There were 33 applications submitted requesting approximately $12 million.

Staff is reviewing the applications and will give each a preliminary score. The Park Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet the first week in October to score each application and rank them from highest to lowest. The Advisory Committee will forward their recommendations to the Park Grant Commission who will again review the applications and Advisory Committee score before awarding the Round 23 grants. Notification will be sent to all applicants following the Commissioner meeting. For those cities that are awarded a grant, the agreements will be mailed in November.

Waste Diversion Grant Program

St. Louis County Department of Health continues to provide Solid Waste Management Programs to help improve waste diversion. The 2022 grant program is designed to encourage municipalities to seek assistance for improving residential recycling and waste diversion programs in your community. Future Grant application deadlines are October 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022. For more information and the website link, please see:

https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/public-health/environmental-services/waste-and-recycling/municipal-grants/

Sales Tax Report

The monthly sales tax report from St. Louis County shows that distributions for August 2022 were 40% higher than distributions from August 2021. For the first eight months of the calendar year, sales tax distributions have increased 14% over 2021. It is unclear if these increases are related to economic growth or higher amounts paid for goods due to inflationary prices increases.

UMSL -Fundamentals of Planning and Zoning

Public Policy Administration Program

Entering its 19th year in 2022, the Fundamentals of Planning and Zoning Chancellor’s Certificate has educated hundreds of members of the St. Louis planning community. Fundamentals of Planning and Zoning is taught by a team of senior practitioners, who have extensive knowledge and experience in local government planning in Missouri, Illinois and across the nation.

Course modules cover planning practices, processes and topics that are crucial for local government success. The Certificate consists of seven modules that include lecture and discussion. You will earn a noncredit UMSL Chancellor’s Certificate in Fundamentals of Planning & Zoning by participating in six of the seven modules.

This year’s program begins on Wednesday, October 12 and will run through November 30, 2022. For more information or to register go to: Fundamentals of Planning and Zoning

November Affiliate Open House

Mark Your Calendar! The November Membership meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 30, at the Maryland Heights Community Center located at 2300 McKelvey Rd., MO 63043, (MAP), from 6:30 until 8:30 pm.

In place of the regular business meeting, the Executive Board has once again elected to sponsor an Affiliate Open House to recognize and thank our affiliate members for their continued support for the League. Last year over 25 affiliate members and 100 guests attended the event. Municipal Elected Officials from St. Charles County will also be invited to join us for this social event.

Please take advantage of the opportunity to support our affiliates, reconnect with old friends and develop new relationships with other elected officials.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

September 11 - 14	MML Annual Conference	Lake of the Ozarks
September 22	League Meeting	Town and Country
October 27	League Meeting	Sunset Hills
November 30	Affiliate Open House	Maryland Heights

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