Tag: Mayor Tishaura Jones

Say No to More Corporate Welfare for Anheuser-Busch

Man with giant green money bag

Last Updated 8:17 pm January 30, 2025

It’s not that a $85.55 Billion company like Anheuser-Busch needs corporate welfare. It just wants it.

For the third time in six years, I’m not digging back further, the Soulard based brewery since 1852, is asking for favors from the St. Louis City Board of Alders.

They are inclined to do so because they like the company’s lobbyists, the co-dependent unions , the campaign money. Good v. Bad public policy never enters the picture.

Board Bill 161, by Alder Cara Spencer, who is running for Mayor, gives the company
💰$41 Million in industrial revenue bonds for equipment purchase
💰10 years of 50% personal property tax abatement on the equipment and other
personal property

Per the Community Benefits Scorecard by St. Louis Development Corporation, the City’s corporate welfare umbrella agency, the brewery is located “in an area of high need and opportunity.” Soulard and adjacent Benton Park are affluent neighborhoods.

The company doesn’t need the help. It just wants it and feckless Alders will likely vote to give it to them, just like they always do for corporate welfare proposals.

The latest corporate welfare for the company will likely have its first vote at Board of Alders, the Perfection vote, on Friday, January 31st. Contact Board President Megan Green and your Alder and urge them to vote No on Board Bill 161.

The last meeting of the Board before Election break is currently February 7th.

Prior to the July 2008 InBev takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the brewery had 5,000 employees in the St. Louis area. By 2010, InBev had laid off thousands. A next door neighbor in Soulard was one of them. He was a third-generation brewery employee. Like his father and grandfather, he walked to work. Unlike them, he graduated from college and went to work for the brewery in a white-collar job. Our neighbor ended up moving to St. Charles for work.

In March 2019, Alders rewarded Anheuser-Busch with
💰$75 Million in industrial revenue bonds for equipment
💰 Two 5 years of 75%personal property tax abatement

The votes on Board Bill 177 are missing from the Board of Alders Votes on 2018-2019 bills. Sponsor of the bill was Alder Dan Guenther. He now works as Legislative Assistant to Alder Cara Spencer, candidate for Mayor.

In December 2019, Alders gave the company
💰$100 Million in industrial revenue bonds for, mostly, equipment purchase but also some real estate improvements
💰5 years of 50% real property tax abatement
💰5 years of 75% personal property tax abatement
💰Sales and Use Tax exemption on the purchase of construction materials

Sponsor of that bill was, again, Alder Guenther, who now works for Alder Spencer. The vote on Board Bill 155 was 22 Aye, 0 No, 5 Absent, 2 did not vote.

Alders still on the Board who voted for this 2019 corporate welfare: now Board President Megan Green, Pam Boyd, Brett Narayan, Cara Spencer, Tom Oldenburg, Joe Vollmer, Sharon Tyus.

Aside from Spencer running for higher office, none of these Alders is on the March or April ballot because it’s an odd numbered ward election and they represent even numbered wards or, in the case of Vollmer, not seeking re-election.

Aye votes no longer Alders but now working at the Board, in addition to Guenther: Marlene Davis, now Legislative Assistant to Alder Laura Keyes, and Christine Ingrassia, now Director of Operations for Board President Green.

Anheuser-Busch is located in Soulard but not a part of the neighborhood’s Special Business District (property tax funding private police and surveillance cameras) or Community Improvement District (sales tax for traffic calming, dog poo bags, trash pick-up…). Soulard CID recently sought inclusion of the brewery during its expansion petition drive but the brewery declined.

The company received a liquor license from the City for its Biergarten and now competes with Soulard and Benton Park bars and restaurants for customers. It contributes to neighborhood litter and safety issues but does not contribute to the neighborhood’s tax districts charged with providing additional services for such concerns.

In August 2024, Anheuser-Busch requested a $262,000 Missouri Sales Tax Refund.

In 2012, the City of Arnold and Jefferson County gave 20 years property tax abatement to Anheuser-Busch’s Metal Container Corp over objections by the local school district dependent on property taxes.

Anheuser-Busch doesn’t like paying taxes. But taxes pay for public services and it’s not the responsibility of everyone else to pick up the tab for public services used by a $85.55 Billion company

Tell Alders to make Anheuser-Busch pay their share.

Below: text of Gerry “Sunshine Gerry” Connolly’s letter to St. Louis City Board of Estimate and Apportionment (Mayor Tishaura Jones, Comptroller Darelene Green, Board President Megan Green) asking them to vote No on Board Bill 161. The Board of E&A voted 3-0 to support the corporate welfare.

Honorable Members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment,

Request to vote NO on Board Bill 161. 1/29/25 Board of E and A meeting (agenda Item 2; bonds for Anheuser-Busch project)

Please vote no on Board Bill no. 161. The proposed incentive (Net Present Value = $1.19 Million fails the “but for” test. Anheuser-Busch simply doesn’t require the incentive to implement its project. At the HUDZ hearing on BB 161, Anheuser-Busch’s lobbyist constructed a flimsy narrative that A-B could select an existing A-B facility in another city for the project.

The procedure defined in Ordinance no. 71620 for SLPS to review the project was not properly documented in SLDC’s Developer Proposal Report (DPR) contained in BB 161. The DPR was not available to the public before the HUDZ Public Hearing; members of the HUDZ committee received the DPR via email from SLDC 13 minutes before the hearing started. The BOA has not been able to conduct robust due-diligence on BB 161.

A study cited by the Post-Dispatch estimated that a 30 second ad in the Superbowl costs $7M. The value of the tax break in BB 161 equates to 5 seconds of advertising time at the Superbowl.

Who loses out if BB 161 is approved? St. Louis Public Schools, the City of St. Louis (General Revenue) and multiple taxing districts.

Anheuser-Busch should pay its fair share in taxes, just like the majority of St. Louis residents and businesses.

I urge you to vote no on BB 161.

Thanks for your consideration.

Gerry Connolly

I Sunshined a Record from Governor’s Office, Sigh

I have been trying since January 15, 2025, to find out which St. Louis business organization(s) or business trade association(s) nominated Darryl Gray to the Missouri Workforce Development Board.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe’s office, which I contacted on January 16th, says I can expect the record(s) on or before January 31st and they will let me know if the cost is over $50. January 31st would be eleven days after my email to Sunshine@governor.mo.gov.

Letter from Governor Mike Kehoe's Office

I worked for decades in public records preservation and public access. My ass would have been fired if I had told a customer that it might take eleven days to retrieve a record.

The person handling this Sunshine request is Jordan Roling, Deputy General Counsel, a seasoned member of the Missouri Bar since… July 2024.

Roling’s previous jobs, per LinkedIn, were Assistant Tennis Coach at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City and summer internships at the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security during law school at Mizzou.

Roling’s most recent job, per Missouri Ethics Commission records, was working on the campaign of Mike Kehoe, now his boss as Governor, at $2,500 a month since August plus mileage.

Back to Darryl Gray. He has a business- Gray and Gray Associates, a political consultant business. I wrote about it here. It’s a side story to the Mayor Tishaura Jones v. Sonya Gray, Personnel Director battle. The Mayor is trying to fire her for cause. Sonya Gray is wife of Darry Gray and was, until October 28th, agent for Gray and Gray Associates.

And allow me to insert here that this whole Jones v. Gray thing would not be news click bait if mayors of the City of St. Louis had the authority to hire and fire any cabinet level appointee. The Personnel Director and Police Chief do not serve at the pleasure of the Mayor in St. Louis under the City’s arcane Charter. You want to hold Mayor Tishaura Jones accountable for the Personnel Department or Police Department, hiring and crime? Sorry. The Charter has a confusing chain of command for both. Blame the Charter Commission and Alders for not sending a fix for this mess to voters.

Back to Darry Gray. He was nominated to serve on the Workforce Development Board under former Governor Mike Parson, appointed by Parson. There’s a weird subplot involving accused rapist State Senator Steven Roberts trying to derail nominations. Of course there is.

Darryl Gray holds a “Business Representative” seat on the Board, meaning, per Board’s By Laws, he had to be nominated by one or more local business organizations and business trade associations.

I am trying to find out which business group nominated him. It seems odd that a business group nominated a political consultant to Democratic candidates. Workforce Development Board does not require a parity of political parties. Even more peculiar, a MAGA Governor appointed a Democratic consultant.

The Workforce Development Board said it did not have records. I emailed a Sunshine request to them on January 15th and heard back next day. They didn’t bother to tell me who else to ask for the record(s). This sort of thing annoys me because when I worked at City Hall, a county office, we were not allowed to say, “not my job.” We had to find the correct resource and refer, give the customer the contact info and, if by phone, try and tranfer them.

Since this is a former governor appointment, I decided to email the Governor’s Office regardless of the change in occupants. I had no idea the request would be handled by a recent tennis coach/political campaign worker.

This qualifies as a Sunshine Fail, in my opinion.

STL City Budget Hearing Fail, Public Denied Opportunity to Speak

Old black and white photo of St. Louis City Hall

The Budget Committee of the Board of Alders (BOA) had a public hearing today, June 5th, 2024, on the 2025 Budget for the City of St. Louis. The hearing, per its City Calendar Notice, was to include public testimony both in person at City Hall and by Zoom. At least two Alders participated by Zoom.

6th Ward resident and local government transparency advocate Gerry Connolly planned to testify by Zoom. He confirmed his participation with BOA staff. He wrote his notes. He logged on to the hearing.

The hearing began with Mayor Tishaura Jones presenting on her office’s budget. Then it was time for public testimony. But Budget Chair Cara Spencer announced a recess. People who had taken time off from work to make their voice heard were told they would have to wait 39 minutes.

When the Budget Committee reconvened, Alders heard in person public testimony. Then it was time for testimony by Zoom. It was Gerry’s turn. I’m not sure how many others had planned to testify via Zoom.

But Gerry was not allowed to speak. No Zoom testimony was taken. No explanation was given. It was yet another Sunshine Fail, Transparency Fail at City Hall.

Gerry was told he could submit comments by email. He was angry, and rightfully so, but he hurridly transformed his notes for three minutes of testimony into written, expanded comments.

Since Gerry’s testimony is not available as a part of the online public record, and while the Budget Committee Chair may not be interested in what he has to say, others may be interested. I asked him if I could publish his testimony on my blog and he agreed. I have made a few edits for formatting purposes and add links.

Below is Gerry’s testimony on 2025 Budget for City of St. Louis which he submitted by email.

———-

Gerry Connolly.
6th Ward resident
38xx Botanical Ave
St. Louis, MO 63110

June 5, 2024

Honorable members of the Budget and Public Employees Committee,

I had planned to provide this testimony via Zoom at today’s Budget Committee meeting. However, due to the fact the committee failed to take any public testimony today via Zoom, I am submitting my comments in writing. 

Public Testimony in opposition to Board Bill 1

I am testifying against Board Bill 1. The City should allocate financial resources from within the budget as recommended by the Board of E and A necessary to implement the policy recommendations described in items 1 through 7 below.

  • 1) Fix the City’s “Sunshine portal, The Public Records Center, which hasn’t been consistently functional for 6 months. Make the responsive records of all city government bodies available in the Public Records Archive. The St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) currently do not make records available to the general public in the Public Records Archive. Only requesters may view responsive records via their portal user accounts.There may be additional City entities that do not make records available to the general public.
  • 2) Open government and transparency must be consistent across city government. The Board of Aldermen (BOA) must update the decade old transparency ordinance:
    1. Post meeting recordings to Youtube for government entities currently missing. These include the Airport Commission, Affordable Housing Commission, Mental Health Board and Senior Fund.
    2. Standardization of meeting notices, both physical and online. The official agenda (not just the text) must include the resolutions to be voted upon. The meeting packet must include the draft minutes of prior meetings, if applicable. All other documents utilized during a meeting should be posted online. The BOA’s posting of many budget presentations on the BB 1 webpage should serve as a model for all departments.
    3. The following city bodies do not operate consistently in a transparent manner: Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E and A); Charter Commission, Reparations Commission and Detention Facilities Oversight Board. The persistent violation of Missouri Sunshine Law by the Board of E and A is cause for alarm. The Board of Aldermen’s silence on the Sunshine violations by the Board of E and A has been noted.
  • 3) Continue to reform of how development incentives are awarded. Ordinance 71620 was a step forward in the system for awarding tax breaks to development projects. However Ordinance 71620 (BB 64 in the 2022-23 BOA session) had major flaws that subsequent legislation has only addressed in part (See BB 98 and BB 236 in the 2023-24 BOA session). More changes to the ordinance are needed.  All provisions in Ordinance 71620 must be enforced by the BOA. SLDC did not follow the mandated procedures for the 15 projects, with development costs over $10 Million, that were approved in the 2023-24 BOA session. The non-compliance included a failure to consult St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) and affected tax districts. Every effort must be made to shield SLPS from the impact of tax breaks.
  • 4) All development incentives must be authorized by an ordinance approved by the BOA. Incentives that presently do not require approval by ordinance include, but are not limited to:

    1. Bond issuances authorized by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (LCRA), Planned Industrial Expansion Authority (PIEA), Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and Port Authority.

    2. Certain tax abatements authorized by the Port Authority Commission (PA) and Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board (EEZB).

    3. New Markets Tax Credit (NTMC) program, currently authorized by the SLDC board of directors.
  • 5) The Land Reutilization Authority’s lot sales policy must be modified. In 2023, the Land Reutilization Authority adopted new sales policies for LRA-owned property, per the recommendation of SLDC staff. In the category of sale of lots for the purpose of building one home, a lot whose area is less than 4,000 sq. ft. is ineligible for sale under the new policy. LRA eliminated the opportunity to provide housing, strengthen the fabric of a neighborhood and grow the city’s tax base.

    The LRA sales policy must be modified in order to restore the ability of homebuilders to purchase lots under 4,000 sq. ft. and construct much-needed housing.

    The Jones administration, SLDC and the Community Development Agency (CDA) frequently cite the Economic Justice Action Plan (EJAP) as a guide for City policy and program spending. SLDC included citations from the Economic Justice Action Plan (EJAP) in the LRA board resolution adopting the new sales policies.

    It is noteworthy that the EJAP planning process, conducted by consultants to SLDC, did not include the participation of the general public or Board of Aldermen. Only narrowly focussed public outreach was performed.

    I have not heard an explanation of the rationale behind the new sales policy in any setting- SLDC website, development board meetings or at BOA committee meetings. The BOA should investigate this matter.
  • 6) All fee revenues from SLDC’s Sales Tax Exemption Fund should be transferred to the City’s General Fund and included in the annual appropriation to the Affordable Housing Commission
  • 7) Eight reforms for the BOA to enact for Local Taxing Districts (LTDs). It is possible that changes to Missouri law will be necessary in order to accomplish some of the recommendations.

    1. The budgets of the 100 plus LTDs in the City likely exceed $50 Million with taxes and/or special assessments imposed on the public. The vast majority of LTDs operate routinely in violation of Missouri Sunshine law. Enact all recommendations of the 2019 Missouri Auditor’s report on LTDs. Read the audit report here (See pages 9 – 18 for recommendations)

    2. Place all policing duties funded by LTDs under the command of SLMPD.

    3. Extend community oversight of surveillance technology to all LTDs.

    4. A representative of the following must be appointed to the board of all single site LTDs: Mayor, Board of Aldermen and Comptroller.

    5. Prohibit developers from controlling single site districts.

    6. Document all City of St. Louis resources allocated to the LTDs. Such resources include:

    (i) City funds expended on projects of the LTDs.
    (ii) City staff attending LTD meetings.
    (iii) Work performed by City staff to support the activities of LTDs. (Examples of City staff: SLMPD personnel when working for the City; Neighborhood Improvement Specialists).

    7. Establish robust Conflicts of Interest regulations for people serving on the boards and committees of LTDs.

    8. Establish a limit on the number of LTD boards on which one person can serve. (Some individuals serve at least five LTD boards).

    I would be happy to discuss the above recommendations by phone, in-person or at a committee meeting. My contact information is below.

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Gerry Connolly

    cc Honorable members of the Board of Aldermen
         President Megan Green
         Clerk Terry Kennedy
         Mayor Tishaura O. Jones
         Comptroller Darlene Green
         Budget Director Paul Payne

STL City Charter Commission, May ’24 Draft Doc

Old black and white photo of St. Louis City Hall

Below is the St. Louis City Charter (Reform) Commission‘s latest hard on the eyes, semi-public document on proposed changes to Charter.

I am publishing it here because the Charter Commission may never post it to their online documents page or may not post until right before, during, or even after their next meeting, a Virtual meeting set for 4:30 pm Wednesday, May 29th.

The Charter Commission has failed to be transparent at the level needed for Charter reform. It posts meeting materials long after meetings, sits on Minutes until City Counselor edits, the Minutes often are at odds with what actually happened, there are no Minutes for the three Workgroups’ meetings, meetings have gone into Closed Session for sketchy reasons, and other issues.

I personally like a number of people involved with the Commission. They are well-meaning but it’s a rigged process, a hot mess. The spreadsheet may give you an idea of the agenda, which must go before voters to be adopted but the devil is in the details. In this case, the details will be written by City Counselor Sheena Hamilton, who works for Mayor Tishaura Jones.

The Commission is composed of voting members and nonvoting members. Voting: Briana Bobo, Anna Crosslin, David Dwight IV, Chris Grant, Scott Intagliata, Dr. Jazzmine Nolan-Echols, Travis Sheridan. Non-Voting: Director of Personnel Sonja Gray (Mayor Jones appointee), City Counselor Sheena Hamilton, former State Senator Jake Hummel (Missouri AFL-CIO President)Christine Ingrassia (Board President Megan Green’s Director of Operations), Casey Millburg (Mayor Jones’ Policy Director), 5th Ward Alder Joe Vollmer.

I am chopping up the spreadsheet and adding pape by page as images, instead of importing the word salad, hard on the eyes spreadsheet, because I am not paying to upgrade this site for spreadsheets and videos.

Note1: Many people confuse the Charter with the City Code: Ordinances, Laws. The Charter is the City’s constitution. The Code is City’s version of Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo).

Note2: St. Louis City has a Strong Mayor system of government. Many people are confused about this because of propaganda by past charter reform efforts. Could the position be made stronger? Sure. A Weak Mayor system is usually associated with City Managers and ribbon cutting mayors. St. Louis City has had many weak mayors but that’s not the same as a Weak Mayor system.