Sam Page delivers ‘State of the County’ speech
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – St. Louis County is in the spotlight Wednesday morning as County Executive Sam Page gives the State of the County speech in just hours.
The Touhill Performing Arts Center on the UMSL campus is where Page is scheduled to give the state of the county speech at 10:00 a.m. However, we have obtained an exclusive copy of the 17-page speech ahead of time so we can detail what Page is expected to highlight.
In the speech, Page calls St. Louis County, “the economic engine of our region.” Page explaining that St. Louis County accounts for approximately half of the jobs in the St. Louis metropolitan area and a quarter of all jobs in Missouri.
Page points to the recent completion of the massive ‘I-270 North Renovation Project’ and improvements to Lambert Airport as examples of economic progress. The county executive is expected to detail improvements to the St. Louis County Police Department. Page will mention the two new precincts being built, one in north county and the other being the new Affton Southwest Precinct.
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That precinct bears the name of Officer Blake Snyder, who was killed in the line of duty in 2016. Page shared that another $46 million is being invested in police facilities to make sure officers have safe and secure places to train, work and interact with the community.
Page makes the case in the speech that violent crime is down in St. Louis County and that there has also been a significant drop in vehicle thefts.
Finally, Page is expected to detail an effort to rebrand St. Louis County to give the county a more unified front and better market it around the country and the world. Page does concede in the speech that the county has over $2 billion in infrastructure projects that they do not have funding for.
Page says the county needs to look at new revenue options and that the county tax rate has not increased since 1984. The speech there is not open to the public due to limited seating. It’s by invitation only.
It will be live streamed on Page’s Facebook page.
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