ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Details of Better Together's plan to merge St. Louis City and St. Louis County are being announced Monday morning.
The group says it will begin a $25 million campaign with the goal of putting a St. Louis City-County merger on the statewide ballot in November 2020. The public can view the group's proposal at BetterTogetherSTL.com.
Some of the major points of the proposal include:
- St. Louis would become the ninth most populated city in the U.S.
- The government structure would include one mayor, a council with 33 members and one police department.
Better Together explained why it will seek a statewide vote, instead of just a local one. They state the merger process would be impossible via local means because the local plan cannot "cannot supercede generally applicable inconsistent state laws or previously-enacted constitutional provisions."
If it is adopted by voters on the 2020 November ballot, a two-year transition period will begin on January 1, 2021. This transition government will be led by the elected heads of the two combining counties of the City of St. Louis (Mayor) and St. Louis County (County Executive).
Watch the full announcement on Facebook Live courtesy of Better Together: