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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Tuesday, January 11, 2005
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Governor Blunt Delivers on Key Pledges
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com) January 11, 2005 - In a Capitol news conference today in Jefferson City, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt announced the first of many key campaign pledges he made during his campaign.
On his first full day in office, Blunt stated that he was rescinding the former Gov. Bob Holden's executive order which sanctioned collective bargaining for state agencies under the governor's control as well as a proposed rule filed by the office of administration (OA) which sought to allow service unions to take money out of the paychecks of state workers without their consent. Blunt also announced the closing of the state's Washington D.C. office, a freeze on the purchase of non-emergency vehicles, cell phones and the purchase and leasing of new office space for state agencies.
Blunt's revocation of Holden's executive order, and the proposed OA rule, will provide state employees with protection against this attempted infringement. The OA rule was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 30.
"I am pleased to take this step to protect Missouri's hardworking state employees," Blunt said. "The decision to join or not join a service union, political party or other organization should be left up to the individual. No such organization has the right to take money out of the pockets of state workers without their proper consent."
The closing of the Washington D.C. office will save the state more than $160,000 in rent and staff salary annually. Theoretically, the office exists to represent the state's interest in the nation's capitol. Blunt feels Missouri's two United States senators and nine-member bipartisan congressional delegation are better suited to perform this duty.
"The State of Missouri has nine members of the United States House of Representatives and two members of the United States Senate making up a delegation capable of safeguarding the state's interests," Blunt said. "The state will realize immediate savings upon the closing of the Washington D.C. office by eliminating duplication of activities and administrative costs."
The freeze on the purchase by the state of non-emergency vehicles, cell phones and the purchase and leasing of new office space will save taxpayer dollars for more important budget priorities like public education, health care and transportation. Blunt and leaders of the Missouri General Assembly have informed state agencies that difficult decisions will have to be made in order to balance the state's budget because of the anemic growth of the state's revenues and the loss of one-time funding sources.
E-mail Scams Exploit Generosity
for Tsunami Relief Efforts
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) January 9, 2005 - Attorney General Jay Nixon has issued a warning that Missourians who donate to relief efforts for victims of the southeast Asia tsunami and earthquake should give wisely, as well as generously.
Last week, Nixon's office received a report of an apparent e-mail scam seeking to exploit the natural disaster. The e-mail reported to the Attorney General was sent to a state e-mail account.
The e-mail, under the subject line, "Tsunami Victims Aids Appeal," purports to be directly from a survivor in the area of Indonesia hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami. The sender, "Mr. Teh Ho," describes the devastation and asks the recipient to send donations directly to a specific bank account at the Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul, South Korea. Nixon said it is likely there are other e-mail scam attempts using different subject lines and sender names.
"Missourians want to help the people of southeast Asia who have been impacted by this disaster, and there are many legitimate ways to make certain your donation is helping in the way you intend," Nixon says. "This e-mail scam is not one of those ways, and I want to make certain the good intentions of Missourians are not hijacked by scams like this."
Nixon said Missourians can best help the tsunami victims by donating to established charities that have the resources in place to send aid overseas.
Communities Can Now Access Jobs Now Infrastructure Program Applications
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) January 9, 2005 - Applications for the new Jobs Now Infrastructure Program are now available at the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The Jobs Now Infrastructure Program provides funding opportunities for cities and counties to access grants or low or no-interest loans for public infrastructure projects. No award may exceed $2 million. Eligible projects would include water and sewer facilities, rail spurs, broadband, road and bridge projects to help businesses locate or expand, public buildings, airports, etc. In many cases, these funds will be used to leverage federal or non-state dollars.
In anticipation of an appropriation from the General Assembly this year, the program may receive approximately $12 million per year for assisting local governments in building public infrastructure through grants and loans.
"The General Assembly came together in a great, bi-partisan fashion to unanimously pass the Jobs Now Act last year,' said DED Director Kelvin Simmons. "We are hopeful that they will come together soon to appropriate funds for the program. Missouri witnessed solid job growth and a strong rebound in our manufacturing sector throughout 2004 and Jobs Now can help keep that momentum moving forward."
Department officials conducted 25 public forums across the state to gather input on how best to design and implement the application process for the new Jobs Now program. The results of these forums are reflected in the application.
The Jobs Now Act also includes several other economic development components. It calls for enhanced Enterprise Zones that will provide qualifying communities with the opportunity to offer tax incentives as an incentive to attract new business and jobs. The Act allows use of $15 million dollars to help retrain existing workers by advancing their skills to keep up with technology upgrades by their employer. It also increases the annual cap from $11 million to $15 million for the BUILD program, which is designed to offer incentives to projects with over 100 new manufacturing jobs or 500 office jobs.
Jobs Now is a cooperative program of the DepartmentŐs of Economic Development, Agriculture, Transportation and Natural Resources and the Missouri Development Finance Board. Communities seeking grants or loans through the Jobs Now program must apply to the Missouri Development Finance Board and the Jobs Now Recommendation Committee, comprised of representatives of those various state agencies.
Ameren Matches Employee Gifts for Earthquake, Tsunami Relief Efforts
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) January 9, 2005 - Ameren Corporation has created a matching gift program for employee contributions to help victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. The company will match one-for-one contributions made by Ameren employees from Dec. 26, 2004, to Jan. 31, 2005, to the American Red Cross, CARE and UNICEF.
"Our employees have encouraged the company to create this program. Many of them are active volunteers and contributors to a range of organizations and have long experience responding to emergencies," said Richard J. Mark, senior vice president, Energy Delivery. "Some of our employees have family members who live in the affected regions, making our response even more relevant. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading utility in the nation, it is critical that we do our part to respond to this unparalleled tragedy."
Missouri General Revenue Increases 2.5 Percent
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) January 9, 2005 - The general revenue collections fiscal year-to-date compared to 2004 fiscal year-to-date collections have increased by 2.5 percent for the year-to-date and increased 2.8 percent for the three months ended December 31, 2004.
The revenue excludes the $95.1 million received from the United States Treasury pursuant to the "Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003," according to Missouri Director of Revenue Carol Russell Fischer.
Total general revenue collections fiscal year-to-date have decreased by .3 percent compared to last fiscal year. For the last three months ended December 31, 2004, total general revenue collections have decreased 2.8 percent. General revenue collections for December 2004 decreased by 2.5 percent compared to those for December 2003.
Sales and use tax collections increased 2.3 percent for the year-to-date, from $947.2 million last year to $969.2 million this year, and decreased 7.1 percent for the month.
Individual income tax collections increased 3.5 percent for the year-to-date, from $1.966 billion last year to $2.034 billion this year, and increased 1 percent for the month.
Corporate income and franchise tax collections increased 8.3 percent for the year-to-date, from $190.2 million last year to $206 million this year, and decreased 1.9 percent for the month.
All other collections were down 34.8 percent for the year-to-date and down 12 percent for the month.
Collections Net of Refunds:
General revenue collections net of refunds decreased by .19 percent year-to-date, from $3.239 billion last year to $3.233 billion this year, and decreased 1.7 percent for the month. When excluding the $95.1 million in federal aid from fiscal year 2004 collections, general revenue collections net of refunds would have increased 2.8 percent year-to-date.
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