JEFFERSON CITY • Steve Ehlmann, the county executive in St. Charles County, added his voice today to those asking the Legislature to give St. Louis control over its police department.

State control of the department dates to the Civil War, when the confederate governor wanted to prohibit any armed support for the Union from St. Louis.

Ehlmann noted that St.  Charles County could've would up with state control, too, since "only St. Louis gave Abraham Lincoln more votes than St. Charles County.

"Luckily, at the time I think we had three people in our Sheriff's Department, so the General Assembly didn't bother" with St. Charles County, he said.

Ehlmann said law enforcement makes up 62 percent of his county's budget, and "I just cannot imagine how we could do our budget, how we could run our county government, if we didn't have control over 62 percent of our budget."

Under the current arrangement, the St. Louis Police Department is run by a state board with four members appointed by the governor. The fifth is always the mayor.

Ehlmann, a Republican, testified in the ornate Senate Lounge, where he used to sit on the other side of the dais as a state senator.  He said afterward that he was not recruited but came on his own to support the bill, which is a top priority of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, a Democrat.

Slay also testified, stressing that local control would bring accountability. Now, when allegations of fraud or mismanagement surface, "there is nobody in Jefferson City to answer the phone," he said.

As in the past, opposition came from the St. Louis Police Officers' Association. Joe Steiger, vice president of the association, said officers continue to worry that future pensions and benefits would be raided if the city called the shots.

Questioned by Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, about how the two sides could find middle ground, Steiger said St. Louis government first needs reforms, such as shrinking the 28-member board of aldermen.

The association also wants "a seat at the table," such as through a collective bargaining agreement, to assure its members a voice in any changes in benefits, Steiger said after the hearing.

The Senate committee did not vote on the bill. While opponents could stall it with a filibuster, the bill's supporters have added leverage this year.

Megadonor Rex Sinquefield has thrown his weight behind it and is laying the groundwork for a petition drive to get the issue on the 2012 statewide ballot if legislators balk.