Does "Truth" = Trash?

Oh the deception of campaign finance. I recently pulled the campaign finance reports for MT Schneider. On his 40-day before report, he lists a $800.00 contribution from a group titled "Citizens for Truth in Government". Hmm..just the name makes my eyes roll.

Who are these citizens? The address was O'Fallon, MO. Do St Charles County citizens have a concern about honesty in our local government?

The MEC's search functions provide the whole story. "Citizens for Truth in Government" is solely funded by Allied Waste's holding company Republic Services.

All I see is a corporation. Where are the" citizens"?

And isn't it a bit ironic, let alone disingenuous, to include "truth in government" in a group name whose sole purpose is for the trash company to hide their contributions to municipal candidates?

Reviewing "Citizens for Truth in Government" 's 40-day before election report, we see Mikey-Mike is not alone. The following is a list of Overland Candidates and the amount sent per this report.

Les Dills 02/07/2010 $400.00

Ken Owensby 02/07/2010 $400.00

Lisa Ridolfi 02/07/2010 $400.00

If the trash company wants to make campaign contributions, why don't they just be direct about it? Why hide it behind dishonesty and trickery? Then again, seeing that it is Schneider, Dills, Owensby and Ridolfi involved--the deception is not surprising.

Voter Guide now on the Post-Dispatch website

The Voter Guide is now on the Post-Dispatch's website.

It provides a brief biographical sketch and the candidate's top three priorities. (Though some people seemed to list at least 5 things for their top three priorities.)

http://elections.post-dispatch.com/voter/stlouiscounty.asp

Overland is about midway down on the page.

Here's a Story....

It's not about man named Brady.

But a man named Schneider. And a man named Dills. And a former Public Works Director.

The PW director was what we might call "highly qualified". He had a PhD in Engineering. He had great ideas. He wanted Overland to be a success.

Id been wondering what happened to the Public Works Director as I hadnt seen him around in a while. Here's the scoop I got from a friend of Les Dills.

Les had a buddy that wanted to buy the old IGA (on Lackland near Simms).

Les asked the PW Director to inspect the building and detail everything that was wrong with the purpose that the buddy could go to the seller and demand a discount. Or, basically, the PW department was Les and his buddy's personal inspection and bullying service.

Les and the PW Director get into a discussion about this situation one day. The discussion comes to a stand still. They were not going to come to an agreement. So, realizing the standstill and in an effort to get on with his work, the PW Director asked Les to leave his office.

Les was not going to stand for not getting an immdiate real estate deal for his buddy. He went crying to Schneider.

Now, Schneider had his own issues with the PW Director. See, the PW Director wasn't much for incompetence in his department. And incompetence he had in the friend of Schneider, Sherry Middlecamp.

Now to keep you up with this, Sherry is the friend of Mike's he had hired by the Police Department. The Police Deparment was too serious of an area to put up with her ineptitude. So, instead of firing Sherry they fire someone in Public Works and give her that job. The Public Works Director wanted a professional department. So, in a professional manner he tried to deal with Sherry. To the point he attempted to write her up several times. Each time, Schneider stopped the process. His friend needed a job, so much so that he was willing to risk Overland's future on making sure she had one.

All of this comes together and Schneider attempts to fire the Public Works Director. Those of you paying attention in the Pruzner era, remember that isn't really a power of the Mayor. He must consent with the City Council.

Eventually, Schneider strong arms his way with the council and has the highly qualified Public Works Director fired.

So, where does that leave Overland?

Many businesses who were considering coming to Overland immediately withdrew their plans. (This includes Dunking Donuts--a store that caused quite a stir when they opened in Kirkwood today. That could've been us. We could've been a contender.)

Any resident, business owner, and potentional resident/business owner now has to deal with the ineffective and incompetent Sherry Middlecamp to deal with Public Works. Another reason Overland is going nowhere fast.

Overland once again has an anti-new-business reputation with real estate agents, developers, and future business owners.

Nice work Schneider and Dills!

It must be Spring, because the Flip-Flops are here!

Shocked to see that the agenda for last Monday's meeting included a revisit of the Respionsible Contractor ordinance. This ordinance was first passed in 2008. Then, last September was repealed by a 5-3 vote.

Among the 5 voting to repeal were Les Dills and Tim Jones. So, not only shocking to see that the subject is coming up again but shocked that it is Dills and Jones who brought the proposal to the table.

It's On. It's Off. It's On. It's Off. It's enough to keep any contractor away from Overland. It's enough to give the people of Overland whiplash.

Luckily, the issue was tabled. As it should be. It's obviously very controversial and it was never workshopped. But, then again when is ANYTHING being workshopped anymore. These guys are running on cruise control.

Candidates for April 6 Election

2010 Municipal Election.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Mayor
Margaret (Peggy) Jackson
Mike Schneider

City Council
Ward 1
Rich Knode
Jerry May

Ward 2
Jeffrey (Jeff) O’Connell
Lisa Ridolfi

Ward 3
Donna Lewis
Ken Owensby

Ward 4
Lester Dills
Craig A. Handley

Les Dills’s major conflict of interest

The dilapidated buildings at Woodson and Midland have been an eyesore for too long. After much delays and much debate by the full council, a hearing was finally held on Monday in hopes to condemn and destroy these buildings. Imagine the big surprise when Les Dills came forward at this meeting and told he had a financial stake in this property. Is this some sort of conflict of interest for a councilman to have joined in debate and votes on condemnation proceedings on property that he has an interest?

Dills: Another Tax Pickle

Seems Les Dills has gotten himself into a tax pickle--or at least a campaign finance related tax pickle. You see, Ol' "I'm not gonna run in 2008" Dills took a campaign finance contribution from Midland Auto and Tire. Not an Overland business, so curious to who was behind this company.

Meet one Timothy Brown. According to the Missouri Business Name database, Midland Auto and Tire is a ficticious name associated with Spanish Lake Auto and Tire. Spanish Lake Auto is a corporation fully owned by Timothy Brown and his wife (both residents of St Peters). In addition to these automotive concerns, Timothy also owns Brown Properties Inc which is located at 1804 Morven right here in Overland.

A cursory review of the tax database shows that Brown Properties has not paid either Real Estate nor Personal Property taxes for the past three years!

Why does Les Dills get support from those who cannot support our local infrastructure?
What is it about these guys and taxes?

I realize people and businesses can fall on hard times. But, those same people don't contribute to political campaigns. Hey Les. Return the money and suggest your friend apply it to their tax bill.

Who is paying who turns into Who owes who?

Finally received some campaign finance reports for the election on Tuesday.

They can be found here.

Allison committee formation and 40-day report

Allison 8-day prior report

Dills 8-day prior report.


Read and comment at will.

Not Bellicose on Bellecote

At last night's meeting I had a chance to discuss the tax issues surrounding the property at 2910 Bellecote with Les Dills. Dills explained that he has been attempting to get this property OUT of his name for a few years, as it should have never been registered to his trust. Years and attorney fees later it is still showing on the real estate tax database in his name.

However, he did provide documentation from the St Louis County Department of Revenue that verifies this information. He is providing such documentation to the city clerk. I have uploaded a copy of this letter to our Filebox in GoogleGroups. You can read the letter here.

? of the Week: Should Les Dills remain on the ballot?

Lone Ward 4 candidate Les Dills just cant seem to get it right. A quick check on the St Louis County Revenue's real estate database shows that Les is--once again--deliquent in his taxes on his property at 2910 Bellecote Ave.

Will the City Clerk do her due dilligence and find this discrepancy?

Will Les Dills remain on the ballot?