St. Louis County municipalities and Better Together: 4 things to know

1 

St. Louis County has 88 municipalities, labeled above. Better Together argues that competition between them, and the city, hurts economic development. “Our region cannot compete with places like Nashville or Chicago when we are too busy pitting Maplewood against Kirkwood,” its report states.

2

While meeting with Better Together officials during the research stage, residents expressed how much they loved the individual identities of their neighborhoods. The organization decided that instead of eliminating municipalities, they would reclassify them as municipal districts of the metro city.

3

Municipal districts will be able to offer fire, parks and recreation, and trash and recycling services. Many of the municipal aldermen and mayors would stay, says Dave Leipholtz, Better Together’s director of community-based studies, but they would have less authority over police, sales tax revenue, and courts.

4

St. Louis County has 78 municipal courts. Research from Better Together found that in 2013, municipal courts in the city and county collected more than $61 million in fines—46 percent of all the fees collected in Missouri that year. It recommends one municipal court system for the region.