Ballwin Mayor: No Conflict of Interest in City Administrator Accepting World Series Tickets

At the end of a lengthy board of aldermen meeting Monday night, Ballwin Mayor Tim Pogue said he was ashamed of the way City Administrator Robert Kuntz was being portrayed for an act that another alderman says seems unethical.

Earlier on Monday, KMOX reported that Kuntz accepted tickets to a World Series game last season from Tony LaMantia, a representative of Allied Waste, which was .

As city administrator, Kuntz was in charge of negotiating a contract for a waste management company.  

“I think most objective observers would agree there is something wrong with this picture,” said Alderman Shamed Dogan, .

During the meeting, Dogan expressed concerns for the city’s handling of bids and asked the board to consider future ordinances that would force government representatives to disclose all gifts from outside sources.

Currently, the city of Ballwin only requires that gifts over $500 be disclosed, similar to state law. Kuntz’s World Series tickets had a value of $250, so he was not in violation of Ballwin or Missouri law.

As Dogan spoke, Mayor Pogue interrupted him telling him “I’m going to stop you right there.”

“You want to give the perception that there was some violation,” Pogue told Dogan.

Pogue said he was offended that Dogan was implying that the World Series ticket somehow influenced the board’s decision to go with Allied’s services.

“My opinion is that at that time (of the game), he (Kuntz) had absolutely nothing to do with the contract,” Pogue told Patch after the meeting. “He is not a voting member of this board and he acted within the boundaries of our code. He disclosed the information as soon as he was asked to.”

Alderman Frank Fleming also spoke out in support of Kuntz.

“Mr. Kuntz should know I enthusiastically support all your efforts and all you do for the city,” Fleming said.  

Once the meeting was adjourned, Kuntz quickly left through a back exit, in spite of reporters asking him for comment. During the meeting he told Dogan he disagreed with his assessment of the situation.

“I am not going to engage you in a public discussion,” Kuntz told Dogan. “But I have a lot of issues with your accusations.”

Tell us in our comments section: Do you believe a government official accepting baseball game tickets should have to disclose the gift? Was Kuntz’s behavior unethical?