Dooley Paints Bright Future for St. Louis County

"The parks are still here," were the first words shared by St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley at the annual Legislative Forum hosted Friday by the West St. Louis County Chamber of Commerce at Forest Hills Country Club in Clarkson Valley, MO.

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"Charlie's not going to dig up the parks and move them," he assured the crowd of approximately 70 attendees. Patch reported many times about the .

Dooley chose to spend his alloted minutes outlining a healthy outlook of St. Louis County's budget and future.

"If St. Louis County isn't spending its dollars properly, then why are we the only county government in Missouri with a Triple AAA bond rating," he said.

"Somebody is doing something right."

Dooley said he believed St. Louis County is the core government for this region. But he noted that raises had not been given to county employees for the past four years.

"The future of St. Louis County is that it is still a great place to live, work and play. We just have to focus on our priorities while knowing there will be challenges," he said.

He encouraged attendees to think about the county's budget in the same way of home budgets recently having to decrease. "We can't cut police; can't cut highways; can't cut jailers. Like at home, we have to watch the basic things you have to do," he said.

"When you have the responsibilities to make things work at a countywide level, it's not as easy as just cutting things off like at home."

The county's bylaws require the county's budget to be balanced, he said. "We can't continue to do what we did in the past. It's not going to work anymore. Nobody actually saw these hard financial times coming. I'm 64 years old, and I've never seen anything like we're experiencing now. We all were simply unprepared."

Dooley said the way to a more successful outcome in St. Louis County is to refocus on what's important. He said he thought expanding Missouri Highway 141 is a key component to that future.

Since 2009, Missouri Department of Transportation teams initiated a $65 million Route 141 improvement project between Ladue Road (Route AB) and Olive Boulevard (Route 340). The project also was approved by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments. It will improve safety and traffic flow, prevent flooding and reduce congestion.

"We will open up 3,000 acres of land. We have to admit that we're an urban county now, and the only way to make room is to tear down or buy property," he said. "We face hard things but the future is bright, and St. Louis County will continue to be a great place."