This article originally appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: The St. Louis Election Board has certified a proposed St. Louis charter amendment to bar tax breaks for Peabody Energy or any other firm involved in “unsustainable energy production.”
But supporters barely made the cut. Although MORE, a regional activist group, turned over more than 40,000 signatures from registered city voters, only 22,639 were verified. That’s fewer than 1,000 above the required 21,679 signatures, said the city's Republican elections director Gary Stoff.
Opponents already are preparing for a legal battle to knock the proposal off the likely March ballot.
Even so, MORE leaders – part of the Take Back St. Louis coalition -- are pleased with their progress. “The Take Back St. Louis petition aims to create a sustainable green economy in St. Louis by moving the flow of development dollars away from unsustainable energy corporations and into sustainability projects and renewable energy,’’ the group said in a statement.
“We are excited to bring this important proposal to the voters of the city. It is a long road to creating the green economy we need in St. Louis, but we have successfully completed this first stage,” said Reginald Rounds, a member of MORE, short for Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.
The proposed charter amendment doesn’t mention a particular firm, but backers have acknowledged that their target is Peabody Energy – the world’s largest coal company, which is headquartered downtown. MORE and its allies long have protested Peabody’s mining operations and the tax breaks the corporation received to keep its headquarters downtown.
The proposal would bar any future tax breaks to Peabody as well as to any other company dealing in fossil fuels and, according to the amendment’s wording, “anyone that does $1 million of business with them per year."
Other provisions also would mandate that the city set up “a sustainable energy plan that includes public money for renewable energy and sustainability projects and opens up city-held land for related projects.”
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, among others, contends that the proposal is poorly worded and could harm the city’s economy severely, as well as drive out businesses.
Now that it has been certified, the proposed charter amendment will be sent to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen when it reconvenes in mid-September. Aldermen will have 60 days to approve the measure. If the board rejects it, the proposal goes on the ballot.
According to organizers, the Take Back St. Louis coalition includes such groups as MORE, Young Activists United St. Louis, the St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP, the Organization for Black Struggle and the Intercommunity Ecological Council.
