Now that the dust has settled from the Nov. 3 election. St. Ann is looking at ways to deal with the maintenance costs of its streets.

Half of them are in need of serious repairs. With its budget of $400,000 for road work, the city will just be able to maintain the streets that currently are in good condition. The rest will be addressed as funds permit, City Administrator and City Clerk Matt Conley said.

St. Ann put a lot of hopes on Proposition S, a 20-year $9.4 million bond issue that was intended to pay for street repairs. However, voters overwhelmingly defeated the measure 67.8 to 32.2 percent.

"The bottom line is the residents told us to work with what we have," Conley said. "We're going to have to look at our internal resources."

If money can't be found, it inevitably will lead to cuts in city services, Conley said. The city earlier this year cut many of its parks and recreation programs because of budget shortfalls.

Some more sacrifices will be needed, said Bill Anderson, director of Budget and Zoning and interim director of the Public Works Department.

"We have streets that can't be saved by routine maintenance," Anderson said. "They will need to be structurally replaced."

The costs for replacing a street can run from $200,000 to $300,000.

St. Ann probably will not put Proposition S on any future ballot, Mayor Steve Aversa said.

"If the vote had been closer, we would consider it," Aversa said. "We're trying to come up with some other way to find the money."

The city is considering joining the St. Louis County's municipal tax pool. It would join other cities, which pool their sales taxes, then redistribute the money on a per capita basis. St. Ann currently is a point-of-sale city with the city keeping all sales tax money.

However, St. Ann must think of two factors - Northwest Plaza and the upcoming census figures.

"If redevelopment starts at Northwest Plaza, then we should wait," Conley said. "Besides, the census might show St. Ann's population has shrunk, which can mean less money. Once in your tax pool, you legally can't leave it."

Despite the need for street repairs, Anderson was not surprised by the proposition's defeat. If it had passed, it annually would have added between $70 to $80 in property taxes for the next 20 years.

"Right now, people are over-stressed financially," he said. "People are weighing what is most important at the time."

A street can look normal, but still need repairs, Anderson said.

"You have to understand the science of streets," he said. "You have wear and tear from traffic, erosion underneath. Streets simply need constant maintenance."

Ward 4 Alderwoman Sherry Hoffman was the lone member of the aldermanic board who voted against putting the proposition on the Nov. 3 ballot.

"I'm happy with the results," Hoffman said. "Nobody wants a new tax increase for 20 years. It was the longevity that bothered many people."

City officials are working on the 2011 budget, which needs to be approved by the board of aldermen.

"We'll just have to look and see what we can cut," Hoffman said. "We can always find some fat."