Most Survey Respondents Objected to Ellisville Walmart Financing

An overwhelming majority of Ellisville residents surveyed online recently said they objected to the city's decision to provide tax-supported financing for a new Walmart store at Clarkson and Manchester roads.

And although the response to the survey was small, 83.5 percent of those who responded indicated they did not feel current Ellisville City Council members are making decisions that are positive for the community as a whole.

The survey was available to residents from March 11-28 and received responses from 215 people, about 2.4 percent of Ellisville's 9,133 population.

Nearly 83 percent said Ellisville should not provide tax increment financing to subsidize and promote private development in the community. The issue has been raging in the community for months as the retailer prepares to move into the corner at Clarkson and Manchester. 

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All the respondents said they were Ellisville residents. Most, 31.2 percent, had lived in Ellisville more than 20 years; 27.2 percent stated they had been a resident for 11 to 20 years. The rest had lived there fewer than 10 years.

Corruption was high on the list of respondents' concerns, with 76.4 percent indicating they believe corruption existed in current Ellisville government. The other percentage, 23.6 percent, said they did not believe corruption was there.

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Only 16.6 percent of respondents indicated they believed Ellisville city government operates with a sufficient level of transparency. That meant 83.4 percent said not enough transparency was being practice in Ellisville government.

A total of 86.8 percent of respondents indicated Ellisville is not a better place to live based on recent actions of city council members.

Ballwin-Ellisville Patch received the survey results from Mark Vogel, senior partner at Avant Marketing Group, the firm that produced and offered the survey. Read more about the survey results and how it was administered here.