Why Frank Munsch Did Not Run Again

FBI INVESTIGATION DELVES INTO CITY'S FILES, FINANCIAL RECORDS;FOCUS INCLUDES LAND SALE, POLICE PENSION AND PAYROLL FILES;EX-MAYOR'S ACTIONS WILL BE CHECKED
BYLINE: Margaret Gillerman; Of The Post-Dispatch
SECTION: NORTH POST, Pg. 1
LENGTH: 584 words

Some Overland residents had hoped that the political battles, personal attacks and embarrassing headlines would go away with the April municipal election. But it wasn't to be.

Overland now is embroiled in an FBI investigation. The U.S. attorney's office has subpoenaed 22 sets of documents, tapes and financial records from City Hall.

A second subpoena asked for municipal files involving property that former Mayor Frank Munsch or his family owned and later sold. Last week, federal authorities came to collect the information, which will be reviewed by a federal grand jury. No one has yet been charged with anything. Among the records sought in the subpoenas are:

* All municipal records relating to two properties bought by Munsch, as well as any regulations or condemnation proceedings associated with the properties. His political opponents say he acted improperly. Munsch denies it and says he did nothing wrong.

* Investigative police reports concerning irregularities in pension benefits of a former police officer.

* Payroll registers and salary scales and various personnel files.

* Credit-card statements and vouchers relating to Munsch's reimbursements for business travel and other expenses.

* Disbursements to former City Clerk Gail Waggoner and other information about her.

* Invoices and correspondence pertaining to legal fees paid to City Attorney Robert Herman and other lawyers. Herman was out of town and could not be reached.

* An investigative report prepared by lawyer Francis Slay pertaining to sexual-harassment and hostile-work-environment allegations in Overland.

Munsch's political opponents have accused him of using his office to profit on property on Morven Avenue and Lackland Road. Munsch says his opponents are "a bunch of sore losers complaining about things that never did happen."

The subpoenas involved allegations that had been raised by Munsch's critics, including resident Jimmy Smith, who said he had spoken several times to the FBI. "This is big stuff, not rinky dink," Smith said.

Smith said he became involved because Overland had a history of political corruption. He says some people have been "as crooked as a barrel of snakes."

"I don't want to be grandstanding," he said. "I just want to get things done. I haven't given up on hope for improvement."

Smith says he went to several state and county offices with his complaints before going to the FBI. "The only thing I want is the truth to come out," he said. "If I'm wrong, I'll listen."
Smith is a political ally and friend of Councilman Mark Brown, a Munsch opponent who ran for mayor in the last election and lost.

The current mayor, Robert Dody, defends Munsch and says the critics have dealt in "untruths
and innuendos."

"It's just ridiculous," he said. "The critics are trying to make something out of nothing. If there's something wrong, it needs to be taken care of. If not, let's get this over."

Dody says he does not mean that Smith needs to be checked but rather some other Munsch opponents. Dody and Public Works Director Charles Karam received subpoenas for the records. Dody has said that neither he nor Karam were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury conducting the investigation.

Lisa Ridolfi, Overland's accountant, says she believes that the allegations stem from the "same old political game which has been going on in Overland for more than a year. The taxpayers will be the ones who ultimately will pay."

Copyright 1998 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.

Taxes, Schmaxes

On the heels of Schneider not paying his personal property taxes, along comes a different issue with the person he says he will appoint to fill his Ward 4 seat. That person is Lester Dills, who seems to also have problems in the arena of property taxes.

Mr. Dills own property just outside Overland, in unincorporated St. Louis County. That land has not had the real estate property taxes paid for the last three years. Copies of the county record are attached to this post (click on the thumbnails to see the full-size version).

Do these people expect to earn city council pay (from tax dollars) when they are not paying their own?

Shouldn't we hold those appointed to what would be elected office to the same standards as those who actually have to run?

Call your council person and make sure that they vote against any appointment of those who do not meet the standards that we enact for those who run through the electoral process.

Your constitutional right to free trash?

In Owensby’s most recent flyer, he states (on page 2) that the city council majority had “denied you of your constitutional rights to vote on the trash issue 4 times.”

I’ve studied both the US and Missouri constitution. No where does it state that citizens of Overland are entitled to vote on whether the city will pay for trash. In fact, both constitutions provide for representatives to be elected who shall make such “day-to-day” decisions.

Hate Group?!

Richard Knode, Ken Owesnby and Ann Purzner have all used the term “Hate Group” in reference to the overwhelming number of citizens that support the recall of Ann Purzner from the mayor’s office. Why “hate group” when it is so apparent that these are citizens that truly love and care about their city?

What is a hate group? To hate is defined as "to loathe; detest" and group as "a number of persons or things gathered, located, or classified together." Thus, a hate group is two or more people who are part of a club, organization, religion, etc. whose purpose is to promote the agenda of what is the subject of their hate.


I do not believe that COGG or any other citizen who supports the recall is coming from a position of hating Purzner, Knode or Owesnby. The may dislike their actions. But, it really is just people with a different opinion on how the city should be run. Different does not equal hate. To equate them would be overly simplistic in a city with 60 years of governance.

Do not let the tactics of Owensby, et. al. sway you from the real reasons Purzner should be recalled.

http://overlandrecall.com/

Owensby and Scare Tactics

Yesterday, several Ward 3 residents received this flyer via the mail. As usual, Owensby is using scare tactics to get the residents of Overland to vote against their own self interest.

For example, the portion about Rob Herman (I can only assume he means Bob Herman, but is probably Owensby's backwards way of trying to CYA). What happened at that meeting (and I was there!) was that Bob Herman proposed, at the strong suggestion of our auditors, an Investment Policy for the city. This is a legitimate proposal, again done at the suggestion of our auditors, regardless of the actual policy contained therein. However, there were questions about the policy. And it was Jeff O'Connell (not Ann Purzner) who made the motion to send the proposal to the Legislative Committee.

The above is on the record and can be found on the city's website here. (pg. 4)
Thus, Owensby's quote of "Thank GOD Mayor Purzner was there to stop this madness!" is a complete falshood. Actually, it was the fiscally responsible man who has been in charge of multiple budgets, Ward 2 Council Member Jeff O'Connell, for whom we should be thanking God!

Then Owensby ties these actions to the stock market crash (is 417 points really considered a "crash"?) and states that Ann possibly saved their homes. This is hogwash! I have never heard of a city that lost its pension plan and they came after the homeowners within the city.

The question shouldn't be "Will Overland be another Enron?" since that comparison is null and void. The question should be "Why don't we have an Investment Policy in the city of Overland?"!

Ad Check: Recall and Scare Tactics

The advertisement proceeds to attack COGG and the recall effort.

They state it is an unjustified recall because the mayor won the election, which was confirmed by the recount.
This is just trying to mix two issues. The recall effort is based on the mayor's actions since taking office. No where on the petition does it state "we are recalling her because she didn't really win the election."

They proceed to ask a series of questions that don’t directly accuse but purposefully raise suspicion. One would only use this tactic when they cannot prove what they are writing.
I personally love the "Have they told you by signing a recall petition that you could be brought into court?"

Yes, Purzner could call you into court to verify that you signed the petition as part of her effort to halt or delay the recall.
The sole purpose of that statement/question is to scare the citizens of Overland by insinuating there could be criminal charges associated with signing the recall petition.

They ask does signing the recall petition "weaken our democratic process". The better question is where in a democracy is the place for intimidation and scare tactics such as stated in this ad?

Ad Check: Wild Acres and Seminary Property

There is a paragraph in the ad that discusses the seminary property and Wild Acres park.

Here are some half-truths contained in the paragraph:

"The property at 2500 Ashby was bought by the former mayor without a vote of the people."
The mayor cannot purchase property. It can only be done with consent of the city council. This makes this a blatant lie.
Of course it was done without a vote of the people. This is why we elect representation—to make these decisions on our behalf. Perhaps the writer would prefer we change the city charter to a "town hall meeting" and make all decision by vote at these meetings.

"These buildings are in such disarray it would take millions of dollars to bring them up to code."
Okay then. It is only in disarray because of neglect. We, as a city, should make a cognizant decision that we will no longer allow such neglect. City government should work with citizen action groups such as "Friends of Wild Acres" to initiate restoration projects. Some of the work can be done by citizen volunteers. Some of the work can be paid for by grants that are probably out there for such projects.
It can be done! The fact that a developer who specializes in historic restoration is interested in the property proves that statement.

Ad Check: What makes a budget "good"?

Their "fact":
The new budget is very good and balanced budget that would restore services but May, O'Connell, and Schneider said NO!

The truth:
Stating something is "very good" is inherently subjective. It is not a fact, but an opinion.
In regards to the "balanced" budget, by state law the city's budget must be balanced. This is not much different than stating "the budget had numbers and dollar figures."

Ad Check: Dog Catcher and Employee Raises

Their "fact":
They turned down a dog catcher.

Their "fact":
They turned down cost of living raises to employees and a salary freeze that was in the new general budget.

The truth:
They did not approve the budget. The budget contained the above two items. The reason the budget was turned down is not attributable to either of the above two items.

Ad Check: Free Trash

Their "fact":
That "they" turned down the restoration of free trash in favor of hiring new police officers. In addition they state that we "have enough police officers".

The truth:
Besides not identifying who the "they" is in their statement, there is some truth in stating that some council member favored a fully staffed police department over restoring free trash. This is especially so when you factor in that Purzner, Knode, Sellers, and Owesnby will not reveal the details behind the "free trash." And the devil is in the details. Is it free landfill waste, but citizens pay for recycling? Do we pay for large item pickup?
Regarding having enough police officers, we have been short the number of officers that have been budgeted for a year or two. Purzner has stated she would like to see the city generate revenue by "selling" our dispatching services to other municipalities. To do this, we would need a full-strength dispatching section of the police department.
As far as what the public favors, most folks I have spoken with would rather have a full strength, highly effective LOCAL police department over the promise of free trash.

Ad Check: No Snow or Ice Removal

Their "fact":
That by voting down the budget, Overland is in danger of not having snow or ice removal this winter. They insinuate that we are all in danger.


The truth:
We are not working without a budget. We are working from last year's budget until one can be passed. Last year, snow and ice were removed. In the October council meeting, an ordinance was passed and approved to purchase and have delivered some salt from the City of Chesterfield.
We are NOT in imminent danger. Really, this ad should be signed by Chicken Little.

Breaking Down the Ad: Get Out Your Shovel

There is an advertisement in the November issue of the Localite with the heading of "Get your shovels and snow-boots out Folks!". It is filled with many of the half-truths and lies that proliferate the Overland Recovery Team (ORT).

Let's examine the so-called "facts" referenced in this advertisement. In order to conserve space and not have extremely long posts, each will be in it's own posting.

Perhaps his/her title's reference to "Get out shovel.." referred to the bullcrap they were about to spew forth on the citizens of Overland

Test template

This is a test post to test the template.

Look for real posts sometime soon!