CLAYTON • A fact-finding group organized to analyze a possible city-county merger no longer lists St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger as an ex officio, or nonvoting, member of its board of directors.
Better Together early Tuesday, erasing a board position the county executive said he hadn’t known existed until Monday evening.
“What kind of group makes you a member, let alone a director, without bothering to tell you?†Stenger asked of a post he unknowingly inherited when he succeeded former County Executive Charlie Dooley in January.
Better Together Executive Director Nancy Rice said the organization did reach out to Stenger.
“The beginning of a new administration can be chaotic, and we understand how our outreach to the county executive’s office may have not reached him,†Rice said in a statement. “A packet including a ‘Welcome Letter,’ board meeting dates and other information related to the board was sent to Mr. Stenger in January, and then his representatives did attend two (of three) board meetings this year.â€
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Stenger acknowledged that representatives of his office did attend Better Together board sessions, but strictly as observers.
Formed in late 2013, Better Together selected Dooley and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay as ex officio members of a board that includes a number of civic, business and community leaders.
Slay and Dooley played prominent roles at the function where Better Together announced it was embarking on a yearlong analysis, driven by data and community input, of factors connected to a possible consolidation of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Critics immediately assailed the group for promoting a pro-merger agenda, an assertion dismissed by Better Together officials.
Unrest in Ferguson persuaded Better Together to switch its focus to regional police tactics from public health, duplication of services and other issues that might affect a merger.
Stenger adopted a wait-and-see attitude on consolidation during the Democratic primary campaign that unseated Dooley and his subsequent general election victory over former state Rep. Rick Stream, a Republican.
Stenger announced shortly before his inauguration in January that unrest in Ferguson had changed the conversation and, as a result, flatly declared consolidation was no longer on the table.
Stenger made clear Tuesday that he will limit his association with the organization to asking representatives to observe board proceedings.
“Listing me as a board member indicates I tacitly support their cause,†Stenger said. “The priority may have changed to policing, but their underlying mission is a merger, and I’m not going to be in their group.â€
Rice in her statement said Stenger and others continue to misconstrue the nonprofit group’s objectives.
“Better Together’s mission is to study the delivery of local municipal services to St. Louis residents, review best practices and share that information with the public,†she said. “Some of our findings have been dramatic, and we understand that can make people uncomfortable. It’s our hope that we can work together, as a region, to find solutions to such problems as the abuse of court fines and fees.â€
Stenger said Civic Progress, the St. Louis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Business Council had informed him that the St. Louis County executive, by virtue of the office, holds an ex officio position on their boards.
The county executive said he does not recall a similar notification from Better Together. Stenger said he would have declined the appointment had he been notified.
“Frankly, it’s kind of an odd move,†Stenger said.
The county executive contacted the nonprofit group early Tuesday. By 8 a.m. Better Together had stricken the county executive’s name from its website.
The rebuff notwithstanding, Rice said Better Together looks forward to “working with Mr. Stenger and his representatives in the future.â€