Illustration by Alex Williamson
Normandy Mayor Patrick Green has grown weary of the “demonizing” of his and other North County communities. Much of his ire is directed at Senate Bill 5, Better Together, and proponents of a city-county merger.
Green says some legislators and civic leaders are building “mythical support” for changes in municipal courts with “emotional garbage.”
He calls Senate Bill 5 “overkill” and the result of a “bliss of ignorance.”
“It’s an insult to this community and its police force," he says. "Our police aren’t out there ‘producing revenue.’ They are out there fighting crime."
Senate Bill 5 would limit urban and suburban municipalities to generate just 10 percent of their revenue from tickets and other fines; currently, municipalities can keep up to 30 percent. Rural communities could keep up to 20 percent.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R–Glendale) sponsored the bill and told St. Louis Public Radio that it would “do a lot to move us forward to end the practice of taxation by citation."
Green says Schmitt and the bill’s supporters have not asked him or other mayors of North County communities how money from fines is spent and whether those funds are used to improve their respective towns. “They don’t care," he says. "They have a different agenda: a merger.
“We have lowered our crime rate significantly," Green continues. "They say we are infringing on peoples’ rights. People who are committing crimes are infringing on people’s rights.
“They say we are preying on the poor when 95 percent of moving violation tickets go to people who live outside of our police jurisdiction?" he asks. "Look at how we spend our money. No one wants to actually find out."
Green says that Schmitt and Better Together are “implying that we are forcing police officers to raise revenue. No, we are forcing our police officers to fight crime.”
Green is a member of the Vision 24:1 initiative, a coalition of 24 municipalities “with one vision: strong communities, engaged families, and successful children.”
Many of the municipalities have African-American mayors and a majority of African-American council/aldermanic members. Green thinks Senate Bill 5 is actually targeted at these municipalities. “It is an attempt to financially put us out of business," he says. "It isn’t about helping people; it’s about trying to restrict black communities. The goal is to financially put us out of business. They want to throw us all in with Ferguson—and Ferguson has a white mayor, and its council is comprised mostly of white people.”
He called a lawsuit recently filed against several municipalities by lawyers with Arch City Defenders, Saint Louis University School of Law, and Equal Justice Under Law flawed because Normandy and other towns in North County have different fiscal calendars. “They had no way of accurately calculating revenues," he says. "For example, Pagedale’s fiscal calendar is different from other towns.’ They didn’t bother to ask us. We could teach Better Together a few things. But they don’t want to hear it.”
Green admits that some communities have taken advantage of the system, “but what system is perfect?” he asks.
“What is going on now is insulting our police department, which is state-certified," Green says, "and our entire community."
Click here for additional perspectives and background on municipal courts in St. Louis.
