ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman is calling for an audit of the Prop P funds after learning the $50 million annual sales tax revenue may be over-budgeted.
Zimmerman asked St. Louis County Auditor Mark Tucker to “immediately” audit the fund after 5 On Your Side reported Monday that it has been overspent.
“I’m very concerned the tax money approved by the voters is not going toward its intended purpose ... public safety,” Zimmerman wrote in a statement. “For the sake of transparency, we need to find out exactly where the Prop P money is being spent and why.”
Zimmerman is challenging St. Louis County Executive Sam Page in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary.
“Someone needs to address this,” Zimmerman said. “This is Dr. Page’s handpicked auditor and he hasn’t produced a single audit, but hope springs eternal.”
But Page's communications director Doug Moore said the county is already looking into the funds.
"Getting Prop P right is more important than uninformed political campaign gimmicks that call for the County to do something we’re already doing," Moore said. "The county executive asked for a state audit in May and that audit is underway. The county’s external auditor issued a report in June that is on the county website. The council received and filed the report at a weekly council meeting on July 16, 2019."
In a statement, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway's Office said it has not been contacted about Prop P funds.
“Our office has not been contacted by the county related to this matter.
The Missouri State Auditor's office is in the process of conducting an audit that focuses on county practices related to contracting and procurement during the term of former County Executive Steve Stenger.”
St. Louis County voters approved the sales tax increase in April 2017 with 63% of the vote. It was intended to pay for police raises, new equipment and technology. It has brought in about $50 million to the county annually – about $10 million more than anticipated, said County Councilman Tim Fitch.
Fitch was the first to raise concerns about the money after receiving an email from the county’s budget director, Paul Kreidler, who said the recent approval of a contract for police officers put the fund in the red.
But online reports showed the fund had a balance of about $17 million at the end of last year. Kreidler told Fitch that the police contract was “in the millions,” and that he wanted to meet with Fitch to explain.
Fitch then sent a letter to Director of Administration Tod Martin asking why council members were not told that their approval of the police contract could put the Prop P money over budget.
He asked Council Chairwoman Lisa Clancy to schedule a hearing to get an explanation about the situation – an idea she said Tuesday she would “consider,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
As for Zimmerman’s idea of an audit, Fitch said he wants to hear the explanation about the issue from county officials first and also has concerns about the county auditor’s political ties.
“I have no confidence in the current county auditor to do such work,” he said.
