Less than a week out from Election Day and the discord around Proposition B is heating up in St. Louis County.
Proposition B if approved by voters would give the County Council the power to remove department heads with cause via a super majority vote. County Executive Sam Page continues to argue the proposition isn't forthright.
"The ballot language is so misleading, so phenomenally misleading."
However the County Council is pushing back on what they're calling false naratives promoted by County Executive Page and allies.
Councilman Mike Archer pushed back on the suggesstion this bill allows them to remove the Chief of Police.
"The board of police commissioners hire and fire the police chief"
Councilwoman Shalonda Webb says this is not about an axe to grind with any individuals.
"It's now about who currently holds the office," adding "these decision that we make, these decision will be there for the future person."
The Council Members also say this is not uncommon in the county at the city level, with over forty municipalities already empower their councils to remove department heads, naming Dellwood, Ferguson, Bel-Nor, Chesterfield and Florrisant.
The County Council is also taking exception to how Page and allies are running their oppsotion campaign, pointing to PAC money.
"Mailing that we saw were paid for by a PAC," says councilman Mark Harder, adding the money was "funneled money from the Page PAC into that PAC."
Allegations of improperly using county employees.
"We've also been told by reports that county employees are being used to work the polls in various different locations"
And using taxpayer dollars on materials to oppose propsotion B. I asked Councilman Mark Harder for his thoughts on a pice of mail sent by the County.
"It didn't come through us for appropriation and we can look."
The piece of mail opposes cites a circuit judge's criticism of the ballot language who's ruling was overturned and only names groups in opposition of the ballot measure. Its descriptions of what a yes or no vote also reads a little partisan. I asked County Executive Page about this piece of mail and its funding.
"It's our obligation to inform the voters of how damaging [Proposition B] will be to St. Louis County Government and the services they're used to receiving... yeah it's absolutely fair, it tells the truth."
KMOX can also confirm similar looking webpages on the county's website has prompted an ethics complaint.