BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. — Several North St. Louis County mayors offered to help mediate a solution to the Bellefontaine Neighbors worker walkout, but the call for unity may have backfired.
“I apologize to my residents that we’ve come to this point,” Bellefontaine Neighbors Mayor Dinah Tatman said.
A group of North County mayors came together in Dellwood to call for unity between the two sides.
“Together we stand and divided we fall,” Vinita Park Mayor James McGee said. “We’re asking for unity. All of us have to work together and talk to one another and treat one another with respect.”
However, Bellefontaine Mayor Dinah Tatman felt that respect was lacking after the group failed to invite her to the meeting.
“While I appreciate my colleagues coming together for this effort, I didn’t know,” Tatman said. “A press conference being called for unity starts with leadership.”
Leadership that she believes members of the Bellefontaine Neighbors Board of Alderman have failed to provide by failing to pass a budget for two years.
“I reached out to this board and asked them to pass a budget,” Tatman said. “You have consistently said no.”
Mayor Tatman said over that time city departments have become increasingly understaffed.
“You denied the staff raises,” Tatman said. “You denied the citizens services because of not having adequate staffing, but you gave yourself a raise. I vetoed it. If you were concerned when I did that you never came back and said let’s talk about it.”
That’s why Tatman is offering to remove every request for funding from the proposed budget in an effort to get a deal done.
“Move me out of the way,” Tatman said. “Take care of the staff. Be concerned about the safety of our city.”
State Rep. Marlene Terry told 5 On Your Side she has written a letter to the Governor's office asking the state to step in.
The Bellefontaine Neighbors board of aldermen is scheduled to hold its next meeting Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.