Ehlmann, Dooley lose suit challenging state fee
A judge has rejected St. Charles County and St. Louis County’s challenge of a $10 increase in the fee charged by sheriff’s deputies across Missouri for delivering civil subpoenas, writs, summonses and other areas.
Ehlmann
The money raised by the fee hike, enacted in 2008 by the Legislature, goes to a new fund to supplement deputies’ salaries. A five-member committee of sheriffs appointed by the governor decides which counties get cash from the fund.
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, a Republican who initiated the challenge, had complained that the money raised by the fee should stay in the county collecting it for its use. He was joined in the suit by St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, a Democrat.
“This statute appeared to give us $150,000 a year to benefit our own deputy sheriff compensation and benefits but instead will be funneled to some unknown outstate county,” Ehlmann, a former circuit judge himself, said Thursday. He called it “socialism, pure and simple.”
Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan, in a ruling Wednesday, said the fee boost - passed to help small rural counties - doesn’t violate a state constitutional provision barring the state from creating county taxes to cover local needs.
Callahan
Callahan ruled that the 2008 law intended that the fee be state funds subject to future appropriation by the Legislature.
Callahan, meanwhile, didn’t decide on the plaintiffs’ contention that the law was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power because it set no standards for the administration of the fund by the sheriffs’ committee.
Callahan said that issue can’t be raised in a lawsuit until the Legislature begins appropriating money from the new fund to the sheriffs’ committee - which has yet to happen.
Coincidentally, Callahan, a former St. Louisan, is widely believed to have the inside track on winning appointment to the U.S. attorney’s job in St. Louis.
Ehlmann said he would appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court and file a new suit regarding the delegation-of-power issue after the Legislature begins appropriating the money.
The measure was pushed by the Missouri Sheriffs Association as a way of boosting compensation for deputies in counties where the starting salary is below $28,000 a year. Deputies in St. Charles and St. Louis counties and other larger-population areas earn more.
““This statute appeared to give us $150,000 a year to benefit our own deputy sheriff compensation and benefits but instead will be funneled to some unknown outstate county,” Ehlmann, a former circuit judge himself, said Thursday. He called it “socialism, pure and simple.””
Perhaps someone should fight to keep federal dollars from funding interstate highways that run through St. Charles county. And what about the citizens of St. Charles who have never had an emergency requiring EMS or a fire - should they have to subsidize the fire district? Without a doubt, the taxpayers of St. Charles county resent the socialist redistribution of wealth from unknown outstate counties and other states to pay for infrastructure that could be paid for by free market means, such as tolls. Surely they also resent having socialist government fire insurance taking over the market, when they could take the personal responsibility route and pay their fire care provider directly when they need them.
People need to get over this nonsense of bandying around the word socialism every time they disagree with something. Of course fees and taxes redistribute money to things that someone might not have otherwise wanted to fund. There are pacifists who hate for their money to pay for a federal standing army. Does that mean that we disarm the military and tell people to pay their money to private defense agencies? Next we’ll be hearing recommendations that fire departments be taken off the public tab, and individuals pay for private fire protection? This nonsense is going beyond libertarianism and creeping in the direction of anarchocapitalism.
Good Lord, I am beginning to dislike this country.”Stop this planet! I want to get off!”
Its not a good analogy to compare this to use of local taxes for fire protection, etc. If we don’t like how our fire departments or schools are run, we have at least some control by local elections of board members. This story demonstrates ‘Taxation without Representation’ such as the City Earnings Tax on St.L. County residents who work in the City, by a total loss of control by the taxpayor on the use of their tax dollars. This is the path of Socialism. Those of us who are able to see this danger, know that socialism destroys the incentive of any small or mid sized business to succeed….and the success of these entrepeneur families and their employees is the Cornerstone key of success in this country. Socialism does in fact provide advantages to the majority in this country who are lazy and feel no guilt in picking the pockets of others to their own benefit and I’m sure those that complain about those of us that point out these truths are just as much of a sponge on society as the worst offenders. ‘waitwhat’s word “anarchocapitalism” is nonsense….I’m sure he’d find a Socialist country to be a lot closer to anarchy than a Capitalist one….but if you are so uncomfortable, please leave our country and go to China so that we can have more room for illegal aliens.
BE SURE TO ATTEND THE TEA PARTY IN ST. CHARLES MO. THIS OCT 2 2009 AT FRONTIER PARK DOWN AT THE RIVERFRONT! TIME 4-7 IT WILL BE AWESOME SAY NO TO GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE. SPREAD THE WORD!
“BE SURE TO ATTEND THE TEA PARTY…SAY NO TO GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.” I had no idea there would be a rally to repeal Medicare and stop the U.S. Armed Forces from providing medical care to our soldiers. Good luck with that…