Brentwood Residents Seek Answers From Aldermen

Residents crowded on Monday night and demanded more transparency from their elected officials.

It was the second straight Brentwood Board of Aldermen meeting where frustrated residents raised questions about how the city handled the and .

(See related on Patch: )

Eight residents spoke about the scandals during the meeting's public comment period.

Jeffrey Harrison, who lives on Annalee Avenue, asked the aldermen about Bob Kurt'z employment status. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Kurtz, the former assistant fire chief of the city, retired during the overtime scandal to take a building commissioner position in the city. He's drawing a pension while earning an $83,000 annual salary, the newspaper reports.

"How can Mr. Kurtz still be employed by the city in another position, in what looks like double dipping? It looks very bad. It looks very unseemly," Harrison said.

"We're dealing with personnel matters and we can't comment on that," Mayor Kelly said.

Todd Ingersoll, a resident on St. Clair Avenue, asked the board to draft a resolution to prevent the city from hiring full-time employees who are already drawing pensions from the city.

"I think if someone has earned his pension, he has a right to it - to retire and take that pension, and then apply for another position," Kelly responded.

Kurtz was appointed to his new job by the mayor during a closed meeting on June 20. A majority of the board approved the appointment.

Maureen Saunders and Julie Pozzo, the two to get the city's books audited by the Missouri State Auditor, also spoke during the meeting.

(See related on Patch: )

To a round of chuckles from the crowd, Pozzo asked why the city didn't acknowledge the Seemayer investigation before the April election.

"I keep hearing we're not doing our jobs — we're doing everything that our attorney is doing to protect the city," Ward 2 Alderman Mike Marshall said. The city could face lawsuits from former employees for discussing personnel matters in public, he said.

"Believe me, we would love to defend ourselves, but we've been told not to say anything by our counsel," Marshall added. "Would the city rather have a ton of lawsuits filed against us?"

(See related on Patch: )

Carl Horstman, a resident on Bridgeport Avenue, spoke up to defend the reputation of Brentwood firefighters and paramedics.

"There is not a better group of guys than the paramedics that are down there. Believe me, I know," Horstman said.

What message would you like to share with Brentwood City Hall? Let us know in a and share it on Patch. E-mail your letter to ryan.martin@patch.com.