Updated with Board of Alders Vote.
Some St. Louis City employees are about to get a very cushy gig- $72,000 a year for 32 hours of work (counting lunch and breaks), plus a $5,000 expense account (you can donate to your church or ward nonprofit if you want), health insurance, pension, paid holidays. You can mostly work remotely and it’s OK to also work at as a bank vice president, a public relations consultant, an attorney, or own a business. Unlike other City employees, no timesheet will be required for the hours worked, the honor system will be in use.
What position do you apply for to get this great deal? Alder. Sorry. No applications will be taken for another two years.
The full Board of Alders voted Friday (January 20th) to increase their salaries and enshrine their elected office as a position requiring some of their time but not all of their time. The vote was 17 Yes, 8 No, 1 Abstention, 2 Absent.
Board Bill 119, as amended by BOA Personnel Committee, was on the Perfection Calendar, the first of two votes toward making it law. It will likely be approved- Third Reading vote- nest Friday (January 27th).
The ordinance will take affect after the April 4th General Election when City voters will elect fourteen Alders to new redistricted wards under ward reduction.
The ballot for March 7th Primary includes 11 of 14 wards with one or more current Alders running for the office. To be clear, Alders are voting for their own pay raise.
Under City Charter, “The mayor shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office.”
Voters should add similar language City Charter by amendment for both Board President and Alders.
Friday’s vote by New Ward
New 1st Ward
Yes: 12th Ward Alder Bill Stephens (not running), former librarian
No: 13th Ward Alder Anne Schweitzer (running), campaign consultant at Public Eye
New 2nd Ward
Yes: 14th Ward Alder Carol Howard (not running), former St. Louis Public Schools principal
No: 16th Ward Alder Tom Oldenburg (running), vice president for US Bancorp Community Development Corp
New 3rd Ward
No: 11th Ward Alder Jimmy Lappe (not running), Director of Data & Research, Missouri Jobs With Justice
Abstain: 25th Ward Alder Shane Cohn (running), owner of 4664 Tennessee LLC
New 4th Ward
No: 23rd Ward Alder Joe Vaccaro (running), former car wash owner; 24th Ward Alder Bret Narayan (running), attorney
New 5th Ward
No: 10th Ward Alder Joe Vollmer (running), owner of Milo’s Bocce Garden, co-owner TLJ Investments (funeral home), owner of TLSJ (commercial real estate), landlord
New 6th Ward
Yes: Board President/former 15th Ward Alder Megan Green (running), Adjunct Professor at Washington University and owner of MEG Consulting; 8th Ward Alder Annie Rice (not running), attorney
New 7th Ward
Yes: 6th Ward Alder Christine Ingrassia (not running), paddle guide for Big Muddy Adventures
New 8th Ward
Yes: 7th Ward Alder Jack Coatar (not running), attorney at Spencer Fane’s Litigation, Governmental Affairs, and Real Estate Practice; 20th Ward Alder Cara Spencer (running), senior vice president for Community and Economic Development at St. Louis Bank
No: 9th Ward Alder Dan Guenther (not running),
New 9th Ward
Yes: 28th Ward Alder Michael Gras (running), attorney and assistant prosecutor for Florissant Mo
Absent: 17th Ward Alder Tina Pihl (running), landlord
New 10th Ward
Yes: 26th Ward Alder Shameem Clark Hubbard (running), stylist and former salon owner
New 11th Ward
Yes: 21st Ward Alder Laura Keys (running), clinical data coordinator for Biomedical Systems and landlord
Absent: 19th Ward Alder Marlene Davis (not running)
New 12th Ward
Yes: 1st Ward Alder Sharon Tyus (running), attorney; 4th Ward Alder Dwinderlin Evans (not running), landlord
No: 18th Ward Alder Jesse Todd (not running), retired
New 13th Ward
Yes: 2nd Ward Alder Lisa Middlebrook (running), manager of Hope Home Healthy Care; 22nd Ward Alder Norma Walker (running), owner of Belt Loop Trucking and landlord; Pam Boyd (running), dietary manager at The Valley Stonebridge Community
New 14th Ward
Yes: 3rd Ward Alder Brandon Bosley (running), owner/developer of New Black Wall Street 314, hip hop/rap artist/producer at Bawsomemusic, owner of Focused on Family Entertainment; 5th Ward Alder James Page (running), executive director for Downtown St. Louis Neighborhood Association, retired from U.S. Post Office
Further reading: St. Louis aldermen tee up a 100% pay increase for next session by Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
The Great State of St. Louis 