Politically Speaking: Rep. Plocher On How The Legislature Could Impact City-County Merger Debate
Rep. Dean Plocher is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Des Peres Republican primarily talked about a potential merger between St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Plocher represents the 89th House District, which includes parts of Town & Country, Huntleigh, Des Peres and Country Life Acres. Plocher, an attorney by trade, is the chairman of the influential House General Laws Committee.
A group called Better Together unveiled a plan earlier this year to create a metro government overseeing St. Louis and St. Louis County. Among other things, the new entity would have a mayor, assessor, prosecutor and 33-person council government presiding over what is now the city and the county.
Organizers are seeking to get the Better Together plan before statewide voters in November 2020. They contend a constitutional amendment is necessary to implement key elements of the plan, such as consolidating police departments and municipal courts. But that decision has sparked bipartisan criticism, because it means that a city-county merger could happen if it passes statewide, even if St. Louis and St. Louis County residents vote against it.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/politically-speaking-rep-plocher-how-legislature-could-impact-city-county-merger-debate