It's a question we heard in both Chesterfield and over in Kirkwood too.
"What is your opinion on a merger between the city and the county? Give us your pros and cons as you see fit," asked Buzz Jelinek of Kirkwood.
"I’m opposed to a city county merger. I don’t think that’s really the right way to think about this. At the same time, we have to recognize that we are competing against other regions across the county for economic opportunities," said Mark Mantovani.
Mantovani added, the way to capitalize on economic opportunities is to still bring in St. Louis city into the fold just not a full merger.
"Personally, I’m in favor of the city of St. Louis becoming another municipality in St. Louis County. That doesn't require the assumption of any debt it just allows the city of STL have representation on the County Council," said Mantovani.
Incumbent Steve Stenger says he wants to see the results of the Better Together feasibility study on the merger before passing judgement.
"That study is looking to determine a way forward. Right now, we’re spending about $700 million to $1 billion more than we need to as a region on duplicative services and layers of government. And I think what we’re going to see coming out of that study is a menu of options," said Steve Stenger.
Stenger said that "menu of options" may only include merging a few duplicative services between the city and the county to something much more involved.
"What do we want this collaboration to look like? But I think we have to have that data first to really get an idea of what the impacts are and maybe the collateral consequences of working even closer together might be," said Stenger.
Both candidates agree, a final decision would have to be approved directly by the voters in a referendum.
#MeetUsAtThePodium is a six-part installment that will air on 5 On Your Side at 10, the two weeks leading up to the August 7 Missouri State Primary.
