An Interview With Councilwoman Dottie Greer
First Capitol News: You have been on the City Council a little over six months and suddenly, out of the blue, this group of five people want to take you out of office. What were your feelings when you first found out about the recall effort?
COUNCILWOMAN DOTTIE
GREER: My first feeling was what a shame that this would be done during the Christmas Season. A time of Peace on Earth Goodwill towards Men and they would decide to bring this forward at that time. My other thought was if anybody should have been recalled it should have been my former councilman, Dan Gould. I am very disappointed that he put his name on this recall petition. I respected him and I actually expected the same respect back. That didn’t happen.
FCN: What are some of the important things you have been responsible for, or participated in, during the short time you have been the Councilwoman for Ward 7?
DG: I have been working with the group to get the new insurance rates. We don’t have a solid number yet but it appears we will be able to save the taxpayers between $1 million and $2 million dollars over what the city has been paying. Councilman Mark Brown started the fight to save money on the insurance and I supported him in every way I could. That is what we are there for, to save the citizens money. The employees will have the same good health care they have always had. That is one of the things I think has really been an achievement for the Council to save a $1 million or more on just the one issue.
We are going to reduce the utility tax for our citizens and I am very citizen minded for my constituents in Ward 7 and we are going to reduce that utility tax by at least 40 percent. My objective is to completely phase it out because everybody has enough to do just paying for the utilities much less pay the tax on top of that.
The other thing I have personally achieved while on the Council is to work with the Department of Community Development to make sure our city maintains a high quality. I had a meeting with Mr. Riddler (City Council President) and Mr. Ashburn (Director of Community Development). I asked them what they needed for our city to stay stable and to assist them in the code enforcement department. What I achieved there was getting the Council to support me in getting two new code enforcement officers. That will help greatly with the New Town Development. Mr. Ashburn told me they needed police officers to be assigned just to the Code Enforcement. I was able, with the support of the council, to get a police officer transferred to Community Development to help with code enforcement so they can do their job. People don’t realize it can be a very dangerous job and I wanted to be as supportive as I could of Mr. Ashburn and his department because he has some excellent employees.
Another thing I have achieved or been a part of is being a member of the Public Utilities Committee and the Public Safety Committee. Those are two issues people really need to realize those committees are there for their security. On the Public Safety we have worked with Fire Chief Rhodes and have come to some good conclusions on purchases of ladder trucks and ambulances. We have expended many, many hours working with Chief Rhodes to achieve the equipment he needs and to expend the taxpayer dollars properly.
On a personal basis in the ward, my constituents feel very free to call me. This weekend I worked up some numbers on my telephone log and I have received 456 calls. I have responded to every one of them. I am getting sidewalks fixed in my neighborhoods, and streetlights put up. I am having issues on Elm Street taken care of until the project goes forward in two years. I am concerned enough to go out to my constituents homes to look at each one of these issues. My constituents feel they have someone they can call and things will get done. I do consider; an achievement that I am there ready to listen to my constituents.
FCN: It takes a committee of five residents of the ward to start a recall. Of the five people on the committee attempting to recall you, were any of them one of your 456 calls, have any of them every contacted you?
DG: Only one of them. Terry Meyer contacted me on an issue. I tried to work with him on his issue but he didn’t do the necessary follow through. Out of the five people that are on the recall petition he is the only one who actually ever called me and then he didn’t follow through. I had no idea who these people were until I took the names and started questioning.
FCN: Do you have any idea what their complaints are?
DG: My former Councilperson in Ward 7, Dan Gould says I don’t get along with the departments, employees or the police. I would have to take issue with that because I do get along with them. I explained to you already how closely I work with Community Development. We have a very good working relationship as well as working with Chief Rhodes. I know Chief Rhodes from going through the C.E.R.T. training, Community Emergency Response Team. We have a good relationship. I know each and every one of those guys who took me through the training. If I have any questions, I call him, he calls me, we just have an ongoing relationship. I have never said anything about the employees. I am not the kind of person that goes around talking about other people. If I have an issue I take it to the person. I take issue with Mr. Gould saying I don’t get along with people. I think I have an outstanding record of getting along with people.
FCN: When Mr. Gould was a councilman wasn’t he arrested for driving under the influence and didn’t he cause a disruption at the police station when he was arrested?
DG: I understand Mr. Gould caused quite a disruption and I also believe, if I remember correctly, that it was reported he tried to bribe one of the police officers.
FCN: Are you familiar with any of the other people on the committee who are trying to recall you?
DG: I have been advised that two of the women on the committee are wives of St. Charles Police Officers. I am familiar with Mr. Gould the former Councilman. Terry Meyer I do know but I would just as soon not comment on that. Kim Meyer, I have no idea who she is.
FCN: Let’s talk about the wives of St. Charles Police Officers. You have recently been involved in making some changes in the police department haven’t you?
DG: Yes. Councilman Hoepfner felt reorganization needed to be done and when I realized how many supervisors there were I had to support Councilman Hoepfner because one of his objectives was to get more police officers out on the street. That is one thing my constituents are constantly telling me, they never see a police officer patrolling in my ward and this has not happened for many, many years. They ask me where are the police officers? By supporting this we not only put more police officers back on the street but also let the citizens know we are cognizant of the need to see more policemen. Have more police awareness.
FCN: Have you had any reactions yet from any of your constituents regarding the recall attempt? Have you heard from any of your residents?
DG: Yes I did and they are astounded as to why this would happen. I have had many, many phone calls of support. They tell me, Dottie we support you, you are doing your job. In particular, two ladies came around Saturday, I don’t know who they were, but they had the recall petition and they were trying to tell this gentleman I never returned any phone calls. He told them, I really don’t understand because Dottie has always responded to every one of my phone calls, my issues and solved my problems. He quite frankly told them he did not appreciate them standing on his doorstep trying to take away his good representative in his ward.
FCN: I saw a flyer that was passed out in your ward anonymously, because there is no name or telephone number on it, trying to tell the people in your ward about the recall petition. However, a lot of the information on the flyer was devoted to complaining about Councilman Hoepfner. The only thing attributed to you was they were saying you didn’t stand up and support the police officers.
DG: To the contrary, I have always supported the police officers. That was Mr. Hoepfner’s decision. I thought he made a good decision to bring that forward to reorganize and put more police officers on the street. I don’t know what the police officers objections are to being back on the street. I find that as a plus. I find that a win win situation. They were trained to be police officers. We don’t want them in a building. We want them out on the streets protecting the citizens. I didn’t bring the police matter forward but I do have a very good close working relationship with the other Councilmen and when I find they have a good idea I support it.
FCN: Prior to your election to the Council it was talked about throughout the city that the residents thought the Fraternal Order of Police had a strangle hold on the Mayor and City Administration. Since you and some of the other members of the City Council have been elected the FOP apparently has lost some of their power. Do you have any information regarding that?
DG: No, I am really not privy to any information there. The only thing I can say I know about the FOP is when I first came into office Tommy Mayer (a St. Charles Police Sergeant and the State President of the FOP) brought a suit against us because the Council made a decision to save some money. That’s part of one of my campaign promises to save money for our taxpayers whenever I can. Tommy Mayer was upset with the new Council because the previous Council allowed him to get paid for his FOP work and also at the same time get paid for being a police officer here. I don’t understand why anybody should be allowed to be paid twice for the same hours. That is actually all I know about Tommy Mayer. To be sued personally and as a Councilperson by this police officer for doing what we were sworn to do, I am just amazed.
FCN: What do you see in the future for St. Charles?
DG: There are many things I see in the future. We need to get cooperation from all government officials to get in there and do the job we were elected to do. I am excited about the community center going in. That is going to open the north end and it is going to rejuvenate our city. We will have the Fifth Street extension and the Community Center that will be for everybody. Not to just to come swim but a center in which people can come together. Where every age can interact with every age. I have a very optimistic attitude of our community really coming together. This is a very worthwhile objective that everybody will be very pleased with. We are going to rejuvenate some areas. We have many different things coming forward for the Frenchtown area. That is going to be brought up to standards. That is another entrance way to our City, Hwy 370. I think people are finally recognizing we need to look at all the entranceways. Our City Government should take care of all areas of our city. One of the things I campaigned on and this is one of my objectives is this is an inclusive government we have. It is an inclusive city and it includes everybody who want to be heard, who want to be active with the city, who want to be a volunteer or be on a board or commission. Every one of these people need to be considered, not just a choice few.
FCN: Prior to this Council being elected it was quite evident in St. Charles a select few people were receiving betterment at the detriment of the taxpayers. It appears the new Council is working towards changing this. It seems to be coming closer to every citizen being treated equal. Do you think that might have anything to do with the attempt to recall you?
DG: Yes, I am new to being in the political arena but I think there have been a choice few people who have received the attention, the contracts, whatever is going on out there because I am not privy to all the intricate things that are going on in our city. The objective used to have been for the special interest group. Now it is becoming for the total citizenry. That the total citizenry is going to be heard and their issues are going to be taken care of. Be it streets or development or whatever. This is a citywide effort to take care of the whole city. Naturally the chosen few have always been taken care of before, to the detriment of the rest of the city. This is something we are turning around and it is not going to happen anymore. We now have a Council that is listening to the citizens.
FCN: A short time ago there was a flap with the Beautification Committee on which you serve as the Council liaison. It was reported by the Mayor that several members of the committee were resigning because of you and then later we discovered that maybe they hadn’t really resigned after all. What are the details?
DG: It came about because I wanted to do a corrective action because they had violated the Sunshine Law. I received a written opinion from the City Attorney that in fact the Sunshine Law had been violated. They were wanting to endorse something without placing it on the agenda. At the last minute they just threw it in under old business. I had objected to that and voted against it. If you are going to bring forward an issue you need to have it on the agenda. If you are going to bring it forward under old business it needs to have a sub-title on the agenda. When I came to the next meeting I told the secretary, Jamie Newsham, I was sure the city attorney had talked to her and I asked if she had the written opinion. She said, NO. I had the written opinion with me and I told her I felt all members of the committee should have the written opinion. She yanked it out of my hand. I told her I wanted to advise everybody we couldn’t continue to violate the Sunshine Law. She took it around to everyone. Towards the end of the meeting several members of the committee started saying they were going to resign because I had brought this issue forward. All I wanted to do was to correct it. In that meeting Jamie got up and started screaming at me and she said, “I’m resigning.” Mary Oelklaus said she was resigning and JoAnn Gresso said she was resigning because I would be suing them. I told them I was not suing; I only wanted this corrected so it didn’t happen again. I took an oath and I am going to uphold every one of the statements I made in that oath. I don’t take oaths or promises lightly. Those three said they were resigning then Cathy Kirkwood said she would probably resign. They were claiming five people resigned because at the very beginning of the meeting Jan Bender sent in a letter of resignation that was read at the beginning of the meeting and it had nothing to do with anything else. Kathy Kirkwood had spoken to other members of the commission previously and said her husband wanted her to resign from the commission because of their business. The way the Mayor said five members had resigned and blamed me was in actuality the fact that one had already sent in a letter of resignation. Kathy Kirkwood had previously discussed that she was resigning and then Jamie Newsham, JoAnn Gresso and Mark Oelklaus said they were resigning. The way it turned out is Jamie Newsham did not resign. JoAnn Gresso did not resign either. The Mayor had given information to the press that I caused five commission members to resign and that was false. Newsham and Gresso are still on the commission. Mary Oelklaus was the only one who resigned over the Sunshine Law. The Mayor did admit on the council floor that only one commission member had resigned. No, I did not cause any resignations. I was holding them accountable.
FCN: What affect will this recall petition effort have on how your represent the people in your ward?
DG: It gives me more determination to represent them. The people know I am doing my job. Actually this recall petition is because I am doing my job. I am not devastated. What this has done is bring the council closer together. We were a good cooperative working group before and now I think we have stepped up to being even more cooperative. I have the full support of most of the Council members. I think that what this has done as far as the citizens are concerned is angered them. They know I was elected to office to represent them now this small interest group wants to negate their vote. They got out there and they voted for me. This has inspired me to work even harder.
FCN: Do you have anything you want to tell our readers we have not thought to ask you about?
DG: I want these five people who signed on to this recall petition to know I forgive them for doing this type of thing. It was not a very charitable thing to do during the season of Peace on Earth Goodwill towards men. I do forgive them for that.
