The St. 亚洲无码 County Council wants three members of the St. 亚洲无码 Economic Development Partnership Board to testify about the organization in a hearing this month, signaling that its inquiry into the county鈥檚 economic development operations is heating up.
Partnership Chairman Karlos Ramirez said Wednesday that he planned to testify at the council ethics committee hearing on Jan. 15. Board member Kathy Osborn and the attorney for the Partnership, Chuck Hatfield, did not respond to requests for comment. Board member Ed James could not be reached.
Meanwhile, the Partnership board is scheduled to meet to review the budget and hold a closed session to discuss, among other things, personnel matters. The Partnership two weeks ago held a closed meeting for the same reasons.
People are also reading…
Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney, who made $500,000 in total compensation in fiscal 2017, may be preparing to leave the organization following a tenure marked by high staff turnover, low employee morale, controversial contracts and questions about political influence from St. 亚洲无码 County Executive Steve Stenger, the Post-Dispatch reported last week.
Interviews with a dozen former employees at the St. 亚洲无码 Economic Development Partnership detail low morale, high turnover and questionable spending.聽
The council鈥檚 ethics committee chair, Ernie Trakas, R-south St. 亚洲无码 County, said Hatfield had refused to make Partnership staff available to the committee until late last month. Hatfield, a partner at law firm Stinson Leonard Street, was hired to represent the Partnership and St. 亚洲无码 County Port Authority when the council launched its investigation in July.
鈥淚n a startling reversal 鈥 (Hatfield) has now agreed to make all members of the (Port) Authority鈥檚 board as well as members of the Partnership鈥檚 executive staff available to testify before the Committee in this inquiry,鈥 Trakas wrote in a memo to fellow council members.
A letter from Hatfield to Trakas that the councilman provided to the newspaper says the Partnership still 鈥渄isputes(s) the Council鈥檚 authority to conduct its investigation鈥 and 鈥渙bject(s) to the expansive scope鈥 of the inquiry.
Still, Hatfield wrote that Sweeney would be willing to appear before the committee as would board members of the port authority, which is managed by Partnership staff.
And two council members say federal agents have been tailing the economic partnership's CEO
Whether all of the Partnership board members will also cooperate is not yet clear. Trakas said Wednesday he had not received confirmation that all of the called Partnership board members would appear at the hearing, but he said 鈥淚 took Mr. Hatfield鈥檚 letter as an acknowledgement he would make people available.鈥
鈥淔rom my perspective, members of both boards are necessary to do a full and complete investigation,鈥 Trakas added.
Trakas plans to hold a subsequent hearing to gather testimony from Sweeney, Partnership Chief Financial Officer Joyce Steiger and Partnership Vice President of Administration Kristin Lappin.
He said the recent Post-Dispatch report on the Partnership 鈥渆xposed what the council has been discovering all along. Just because we haven鈥檛 had hearings doesn鈥檛 mean we haven鈥檛 been digging. Based on the committee鈥檚 work, we came to many of the same conclusions you did.鈥
After the Post-Dispatch published its report, newly sworn-in Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-Maplewood, said on Twitter that she was 鈥渄eeply concerned (and) troubled by the allegations in this piece. A thorough investigation is warranted.鈥
Council Chairman Sam Page, D-Creve Coeur, said in an interview that 鈥渢he council鈥檚 worst fears of the Partnership may just be true.鈥
Hatfield鈥檚 indication that the Partnership and port authority may cooperate in the council鈥檚 investigation follows the council鈥檚 move late last month to appropriate the Partnership鈥檚 roughly $4.1 million county allocation in quarterly installments. 鈥淚 would suspect it has something to do with the budget process,鈥 Page said of the Partnership鈥檚 recent shift in position on the council investigation. 鈥淭he council has made it clear that it will withhold funding from the Partnership until it meets its transparency obligations and cleans up this mess.鈥
Council chair says difficulty obtaining documents on several deals are "red flags."
The Partnership is still resisting the council鈥檚 requests for documents. Hatfield鈥檚 letter says that Trakas鈥檚 request for personnel records from the Partnership is 鈥渙verly broad and unduly burdensome鈥 and includes records protected from disclosure. It calls a request for emails from Steiger, the Partnership CFO, 鈥渆xtremely broad鈥 and beyond the focus of the committee鈥檚 investigation. The Partnership won鈥檛 鈥渧oluntarily produce documents鈥 responsive to that request, Hatfield wrote, but may accommodate a more narrow request for Steiger鈥檚 emails.
Trakas contends the council has broad investigatory powers, pointing to provisions of the St. 亚洲无码 County Charter granting it the power to 鈥渆stablish procedures for the conduct of investigations.鈥 He also contends the ordinances creating the county鈥檚 port authority grant it oversight of the powerful entity, which collects about $5 million in annual rent from the River City Casino.