St. Anthony's Medical Center Lays Off 176 Employees

The South St. Louis County hospital cut its workforce by 4 percent Wednesday.

This story has been corrected to show the number of current employees at St. Anthony's Medical Center. In an effort to cut operating costs by $22 million, the South St. Louis County hospital St. Anthony's Medical Center cut 4 percent of its workforce Wednesday. St. Anthony's cut 176 positions: 25 in management and 151 in non-management, according to KSDK. The hospital currently employs 3,350 employees, according to media coordinator Mary Jo Wich. The hospital reported 3,150 total staff at the end of 2011, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. "St. Anthony's believes our community is best served by a thriving, nimble health care institution," said chief executive James Gardner, who was hired on at the hospital in March. This round of…

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Audit Shows a Budget Surplus for Shrewsbury

The city originally projected a deficit of $187,000 for 2011.

A one-time windfall from a large construction permit fee and an uptick in sales tax receipts helped the City of Shrewsbury end the year with a budget surplus, the city's audit shows.  The audit of the 2011 budget was performed by accounting firm RubinBrown and was presented to the Shrewsbury Board of Alderman during its regular session Tuesday night.  According to the audit, the surplus came despite the fact that the city originally projected it would end 2011 in the red with a deficit of nearly $180,000 in its approximately $5.6 million general fund. Instead, Shrewsbury experienced a 6.2 percent increase in revenue thanks to growth in sales tax income and $188,864 more than anticipated in building permit fees, largely due to the St. Louis…

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Bayless Leaders Lay Out Financial Strategy

With taxy levy passed, incoming superintendent says next step is annual "right-sizing."

Although the passage of Proposition B has saved the Bayless School District from a worst-case scenario, further steps will need to be taken to shore up its finances in the face of declining enrollment and decreased state funding. That was the message delivered from the district’s incoming superintendent Ron Tucker to the Bayless Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday night. He estimated that the approximately $1.2 million raised by the tax levy spared the schools “drastic cuts” that could have eliminated more than 30 positions. The next step for the district is focusing on an annual strategy of what Tucker called “right-sizing” to ensure that the district is appropriately staffed and avoid the necessity of drastic cuts in the future…

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Shrewsbury Seeks Input on Possible Cuts vs. Taxes

Intensive work sessions and a public forum are part of the city's plan to cope with financial shortfalls.

The City of Shrewsbury has already began planning for its 2013 budget with intensive work sessions this month and a public forum scheduled for later this spring. The Board of Aldermen held an all-day session Feb. 25 that put everything “out on the table,” according to Director of Administration Jonathon Greever. He characterized the discussions as an ongoing, broad conversation about what options the city has to balance its budget if no significant economic development occurs in the next several years. “Our approach is that the Kenrick Plaza redevelopment is still viable, we just don’t know which way it’s going to go,” Greever said, referring to currently stalled discussions about the construction of a Walmart Supercenter in Shrewsbury. “…

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Shrewsbury Approves Budget Shortfall for 2012

The city and board of aldermen said despite efforts to find savings, Shrewsbury is predicted to run a deficit of $263,298.

For the third year in a row, the Shrewsbury Board of Aldermen has approved a budget with a six-figure deficit. The approximately $5.5 million 2012 budget passed by the aldermen at their meeting Tuesday night projects an overall deficit of $263,298. Budgets in 2011 and 2010 predicted shortfalls of $177,201 and $176,800, respectively. A public hearing on the budget was held prior to the meeting, but no citizens stepped forward for comment. Director of Administration Jonathan Greever said Shrewsbury plans to post the full budget on its website. Mayor Felicity Buckley said the shortfall occurred despite two significant cuts—no cost-of-living wage increases for city employees and the elimination of the salary for a city administrator. “These …

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Shrewsbury Considering Increased Business Fees for Licenses, Permits

A 20 percent increase in business license fees could generate an additional $40,000 of revenue for the in-the-red city.

Faced with a quarter-million-dollar deficit for 2012, the Shrewsbury Board of Aldermen weighed the pros and cons of raising business licensing fees at a budget work session Tuesday. Shrewsbury Director of Administration Jonathan Greever outlined the options to the board with a memo summarizing the first part of his research on the subject. It specifically focused on business licenses, which are calculated through a gross receipts tax paid yearly. Greever said it currently sits at $1 per $1,000 (a company with revenues of $100,000 would owe $1,000), which puts Shrewsbury in the low end among nearby municipalities. Maplewood also charges $1 but rates can range up to the $1.75 levied by Richmond Heights. He said this gives the board room to …

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Special Committee Questions County Budget Estimates

A special budget committee met Monday to look at the 2012 recommended St. Louis County budget.

The St. Louis County Council believes the recommended budget could be more accurately estimated to close a $26 million shortfall originally projected for 2012. “We just feel with the history the way the budget is estimated that we can get through this and we’re going to have a sound, balanced budget next year,” said District 4 County Councilman Mike O’Mara. “We just think the estimates will come in in our favor to help out next year’s budget." O’Mara said he thought the budget could be balanced through attrition without majorly affecting any department— holding back on positions that are funded and not filling those positions. The county’s Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls and his department created the forecast that generates figures …

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Residents Support County Parks at Council Meeting

More than 60 attended the county council meeting Tuesday, with 10 speaking about the parks.

Although the possible closure of 23 county parks and facilities wasn't on the St. Louis County Council's agenda on Tuesday, the subject was fresh in the minds of 10 speakers who came to advocate on behalf of the parks. “Our purpose for speaking tonight is to plead with you to make the 2012 budget cuts fair and equitable across the board,” said Mehlville resident and parks volunteer Bonnie Lorenz. “A family may not be able to afford to go to the show, or a baseball game, but they can go to one of our wonderful 69 parks for free.” “Don’t let your legacy in office show that you were responsible for closing parks in our great county,” she said. Before the meeting, County Executive Charlie Dooley made it clear the county would not be selling …

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Petition Launches to Save County Parks

More than 100 people have signed the online petition asking county government officials not to close parks to cut the budget.

Kristen Weber hoped a few people would sign her online petition to save county parks from budget cuts—but when she heard 100 people had joined in the first 24 hours, she knew county residents were behind her. "Oh, wow, yay!" she exclaimed excitedly. “That alone is enough for me to go forward. I’m in this for the long haul.” Weber said it’s “ridiculous” that County Executive Charlie Dooley is proposing to shutter local parks, like Mathilda‐Welmering and Ohlendorf parks in Affton and Bohrer County Park in Concord, to save money. “My first initial reaction was, this directly affects me,” she said. “They’re just totally tunnel-visioned on these cuts, and I just thought I had to take a stance.” So she logged on to Change.org, where a woman …

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Talk of the Town

Talk of the Town: Hurricane Irene, NHRA Drag Racing and National Politics

"Patch" brings you a local look at national news. What stories are you following this week?

From Hurricane Irene coverage to ongoing national politics and sports, business owners and workers in Affton and Shrewsbury share what they are following in the news this week. “Of course the hurricane…My own personal opinion is that it was blown out of proportion, no pun intended. The lead up to it was kind of expected for the East Coast, I guess. They’re not used to these things happening, so they don’t know how to react.”–Daryk Campbell, Festus “Water, water, water—I think it’s what everyone’s been watching. That’s it. And next week it will be drag racing, NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) drag racing.”–Bob Grosse, Affton “Not a single politician listens to constituents. They all do what they want to do. They all have agendas when …

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