Is It Time for a Leadership Overhaul in St. Louis’ Tornado Recovery?

Is it time for Mayor Cara Spencer to consider firing some of the people on the Tornado Recovery team? She already admitted the effort moves too slowly.

Even some team members acknowledge the situation is going badly. They publicly stated they should have done better. They also admitted they failed to meet expectations and targets.

I asked the Mayor that question at her news conference today. I wanted to know if she planned to fire her tornado recovery leadership due to poor performance.

She answered that her team still holds her full confidence. However, she admitted the recovery moves slowly.

The Problem with the Current Plan

You might recall the Mayor hired a law firm to study the city’s response shortly after the storm.

I applaud the Mayor for her openness and transparency in commissioning the study. But that study revealed awful truths about the city’s tornado response. It showed they lacked an adequate plan to deal with this crisis.

So St. Louis started out behind the eight ball. Now, the tornado victims pay the price.

Thousands of people remain out of their homes eight months after this tornado hit. Nobody knows when many of them will return. Residents indicate total dissatisfaction with Mayor Cara Spencer’s recovery effort at every town hall meeting. They appear angrier as time passes. It is clear they want action.

Delays and Disappointments

The city program repaired only about 30 homes out of more than 1,000 damaged houses. A variety of reasons caused this lack of work. But you know what people say about excuses.

People are still trying to get rental assistance under the Rams funds dedicated to tornado recovery. Many applicants still await approval. In short, it looks like a mess.

Many residents are not happy one bit. This is especially true for those in North St. Louis and West St. Louis impacted by the storm. You could hear the open frustration and even anger at the Mayor’s Townhall meeting this week. These people lost their homes. They had houses severely damaged. They still cannot return to those houses.

A Call for Leadership Change

If this city leadership team served in the army, superiors would relieve many of them of duty.

The Mayor acts akin to a four-star general. If she didn’t make changes, superiors would relieve her of duty too.

It is clear that the city must fire or reassign some people. We need to bring in new folks who have more experience. We need people who have a better idea of what they are doing.

In short, the mayor needs a team that can get the job done.

We must pump fresh blood into this tornado recovery effort. Clearly, the city’s current strategy fails to work. The people in charge prove they are not up to the task.

It is time for an overhaul. It is time for a change. Heads must roll for the good of the people who desperately want to get back in their homes.

We must relieve people of duty or reassign them. We must bring in others who know what they are doing. This is the only way to get this essential effort back on track.

Too many lives depend on having the best people in position to cope with this catastrophe.

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