Politics & Government

Two Town Halls Set Before St. George Disincorporation Vote

St. George residents can meet and ask questions of city and county officials before deciding whether to dissolve the city.

The has scheduled two town hall meetings with St. Louis County officials before residents vote on a ballot measure to disincorporate the troubled city.

The first town hall will be 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the club house.

The second will be 10 a.m. on Oct. 15 at the .

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The disincorporation measure goes to a vote election day, Nov. 8.

“I understand that this is a very emotional issue for some and simply a practical decision for others. It is my hope that each of you will receive all of the information you need to make an informed decision, and that you will once again turn out in record numbers to vote on November 8,” Mayor Carmen Wilkerson wrote in a letter that went out to St. George residents this week.

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The two meetings follow up a similar town hall meeting in May. At that meeting, St. Louis County Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls made a presentation about county operations and what sorts of changes residents are likely to see to taxes and services if disincorporation goes through.

For instance, Earls estimated that a resident in a single-family home with an appraised value of $140,000 would pay, depending on utilities usage, $241 a year in municipal fees and taxes in St. George or $248 as part of the unincorporated county.

“The pricetag for being a part of unincorporated county is about neutral, depending on their property values and utilities usage,” Earls said in an earlier interview.

At the new meetings, both St. George and St. Louis County officials will again be present to answer questions about the benefits and consequences of dissolving the tiny municipality.

Topics of discussion for the upcoming meetings will again include potential changes in what taxes residents will pay, the future of the city’s small park and how the county would deal with St. George’s deteriorating streets.

The ballot measure was in August after disincorporation supporters , or about 60 percent of registered voters in St. George.

If the ballot measure wins 60 percent of the vote in November, the municipal government will be disbanded, and St. George will become a neighborhood in unincorporated Affton.

“You do not want to miss the opportunity to participate in this highly significant event,” Wilkerson wrote in her letter. “The question on the November 8 ballot is historic.”

You can read Patch’s in depth coverage of the St. George disincorporation efforts in our series, ."


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