Waller Seeking Re-Election As Jefferson County Exec

Ken Waller will pursue a second term in 2014, he announced last week.

Ken Waller will seek re-election as County Executive instead of running for a state senate seat in 2014, he announced in a news release last week.  Waller briefly considered a run for the 22nd District Senate seat, according to the news release. He was elected as the county's first the County Executive in 2010. “I definitely feel we’re better off now than when I started out my term – both fiscally and organizationally,” Waller told Leader Publications. He said he is making job creation and retention a priority. "As we look to the future, it is no secret that jobs are essential to the stability of our residents and our County," he said in the release. "We want job creators to know that Jefferson County welcomes their business and wants to …

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Turmoil Over Misnumbered Jefferson County Bills, Watch the Video, Take the Poll

Watch the video of the council meeting where Renee Reuter walked out in protest. What do you think? Take the poll!

Jefferson County Council Woman Renee Reuter wrote a blog, published in Arnold Patch on Feb. 16, about leaving a council meeting to protest 46 misnumbered bills. She left the meeting after the council voted to approve the agenda, which included the misnumbered bills. In her blog she compared misnumbered bills to a wrong address on a deed or an incorrect VIN on your car title, which could lead to “long and expensive court battles that will be paid for by our taxes.” “When members of the council whip out a rubber stamp and pretend they’ve been given a lobotomy,” she said, “they ignore the whole purpose of the Charter and the essence of their responsibility to the people they represent.” County Executive Ken Waller responded to Reuter’s …

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To the Editor: Regrettable That Reuter Abandoned the Council

Ken Waller responds to criticism of administrative procedures and county council actions; says Council member Reuter acted childishly.

Earlier today Jefferson County Council Woman Renee Reuter wrote in a blog on Patch, that at the Monday meeting of the Jefferson County Council, bills were passed that didn't follow proper naming conventions. She said she was so disappointed she left the meeting. In response, Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller, wrote this letter to the editor of Arnold Patch. To the editor: What occurred last the February 14, 2012 county council meeting regarding the numbering of the legislative bills was nothing more than a simple administrative oversight, one that my administration takes very seriously. Council Woman (Renee) Reuter is correct that the bills did not follow the historical system of numbering. What occurred was that the sequential …

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Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Crime Log

Jefferson County Executive Says State of the County is Improving

County Executive Waller paints upbeat portrait of Jefferson County and calls for new legislation to establish non-partisan elective posts.

County Executive said the state of Jefferson County is "improving." "We've been in some very trying times, but we got through it." he said. I'm really looking forward to 2012," Waller said Friday at a breakfast meeting of the newly named Jefferson County Growth Association (JCGA). The organization previously was known as the Jefferson County Growth and Development Association. After a year in his position as executive, and the first year of the "new" county council, Waller said "We're charting a course for the future of the county." He called for a few mid-course corrections, however, asking the council to act on a variety of proposals, one of which is a call for the council to authorize a vote on whether the county should have non-…

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Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Crime Log

Jefferson County Council Finds $650,000 for Budget

The council will vote on how to use the money.

A few Jefferson County government employees may be enjoying the holiday season a few days early this year. According to the stltoday.com website, the Jefferson County Council will have an additional $650,000, due to sales tax revenue, that was found after County Executive Ken Waller warned of possible employee layoffs in a propose budget submitted in November. County council will determine whether to spend that money on salaries, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, the county jail, or save it for other expenses that may occur in 2012, the website said. The county council will meet on Dec. 27 in Hillsboro to vote on the budget.

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Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Crime Log

More Inmates, Fights in Crowded Jefferson County Jail

The Jefferson County Jail is holding about three times more inmates than it was designed to contain, the stltoday.com news website reports.

Although the Jefferson County jail is overcrowed and understaffed, County Executive Ken Waller said the county government is unable to afford more staff or increase the jail's size. The jail currently holds about 264 inmates but was meant to contain 89, the stltoday website reports. There is a 42 percent increase in the number of fights at the jail and only five officers work at the jail, the website reports. Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer wants to hire 18 more officers. Waller said there is no additional money available for more staff in the county's $82 million budget for 2012.

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Kay

7:23 pm on Monday, December 12, 2011

Also, I have confirmed that there individuals in the jail that are laying in the hallways, on stairwells, on tables, basically wherever they can find a little bit of space and very unsanitary.   more ›

Confusion Reigns Over County’s Vehicle Use Policy

County Executive and council at odds over resolution’s reach.

Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller said Jefferson County Council members overstepped their bounds earlier this month when they adopted a resolution requiring all county vehicles, including sheriff’s department vehicles, to be parked on county property when not in use for county business. But county council members say the resolution was never intended to include the sheriff’s department. The resolution, aimed at reducing fuel consumption and approved by the county council Sept. 12, states that “all county vehicles shall only be used for county business and when not in use shall be parked on county property.” The resolution does not specifically name the vehicles included in the sheriff’s fleet. However, some county government regulars …

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Arnold City Council Wants to Hear from Cold Medicine Makers

Jefferson County Councilmen want Arnold law requiring people to have prescriptions prior to buying over-the-counter cold medicines.

Arnold City council members want to hear from cold medicine users and pharmaceutical companies prior to considering a ban on over-the-counter drugs that contain a chemical used to make methamphetamine. After listening to Jefferson County Sheriff’s Cpl. Tim Whitney and County Executive Ken Waller discuss the problems meth causes on residents and cities, city council members said they needed to hear opponents of the cold medicine sales ban. “I don’t want the good people in the community to be punished by bad people stealing in the area. But we (the city council members) need to look at all sides of the issue,” Mayor Ron Counts during the Thursday city council work session at City Hall at 2101 Jeffco Blvd. Methamphetamine, or meth, is a drug …

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Jefferson County Legislators, County Executive Appeal for Arnold to Restrict Cold Medicine Sales

A city ordinance requiring doctors' prescriptions for cold medicines would limit methamphetamine makers in Jefferson County, legislators say.

Jefferson County District 3 Council Member Bob Boyer, District 5 Council Member Teresa Kreitler and County Executive Ken Waller appealed to Arnold City Council members to consider limiting cold medicine sales to people with doctors' prescriptions. The proposed ordinance would limit the making of methamphetamine, also called meth, within Jefferson County, the county legislators said during the Arnold City Council meeting at 2101 Jeffco Blvd., last Thursday. Meth can be made from certain cold medicines containing Pseudoephedrine, a drug that reduces congestion and swelling in the nose, states the Food Marketing Institute website. Arnold is the last city in Jefferson County to consider requiring a prescription for the sale of cold medicines, …

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