ST. LOUIS — The city sheriff’s office has hired some prominent lobbyists in recent weeks amid a push to raise salaries for deputies and boost its budget.
State records show nine lobbyists associated with two main firms, Flotron & McIntosh and Strategic Capitol Consulting, began work for Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s office in late March and early April.
Both have long client lists and notoriety. Strategic Capitol Consulting is led by former Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, whose clientele includes Anheuser-Busch, Centene, Tesla and the state’s main marijuana industry trade group.
And Flotron & McIntosh’s Richard McIntosh, is another longtime capitol insider. In 2019, he led a high-profile — and ultimately doomed — effort to change the state’s Title IX laws, after his son was expelled from Washington University following allegations he harassed another student. The sheriff’s office previously employed lobbyist Steve Carroll’s firm, which also lobbies for ӣƵ Public Schools and a number of associations, and former State Rep. Rodney Hubbard Jr.
People are also reading…
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office, John Gieseke, said he did not know how much the office was paying the new lobbyists, and would not produce the office’s contracts with the firms. He said the lobbyists were working on local and state funding issues.
Progress is slow locally. Montgomery’s office asked for a 28% increase in its share of the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year along with 52 new staff positions. Budget Director Paul Payne’s proposal to the city’s Estimate Board, unveiled last week, offered a 5% increase, in line with the rest of the budget, and cut a position.
But in the state Legislature, multiple lawmakers have been pushing legislation to require all ӣƵ sheriffs’ deputies to be paid at least $50,000, which city budget officials think would likely cost more than $1.5 million more per year. The provision has also been tucked into a handful of omnibus public safety bills.
Mayor Cara Spencer’s office has opposed the mandate.
“We think it’s important that local salaries be determined and managed at the local level,” Rasmus Jorgensen, a spokesman for Spencer, said in a written statement.
Officials also noted that the state constitution generally bars the Legislature from forcing local governments to spend more without providing them with extra money.
The city sheriff’s office does not run the jail or perform general law enforcement. Deputies transport prisoners to and from court, provide courthouse security and serve legal papers.
Since taking office in January, Montgomery has made headlines for some unusual behavior.
On Jan. 17, after just a couple of weeks on the job, Montgomery showed up at ‘‘. Police responded, found the deputy had a valid security license, and gave the gun back.
A few days later, Montgomery threatened to fire a former deputy unless he rolled a “seven” with a pair of gold dice that the sheriff kept in his desk drawer.
On Feb. 14, amid an investigation into accusations that a sheriff’s deputy had repeated illegal sexual encounters with an inmate in the city jail, Montgomery tried to get into the jail. And when the city’s deputy jail chief refused to grant him access to the detainee, Montgomery had the deputy chief arrested. The matter was later referred to the FBI.
State Rep. Steve Butz, D-ӣƵ, was one of two legislators from the city who filed bills in December looking to boost deputy pay. He’s since dropped his support due to concerns about the state of the sheriff’s office.
“I’m in support of anybody making more money,” Butz said. “But the office is in too much chaos. I’m dropping all efforts to do anything this session.”
Sen. Karla May, D-ӣƵ, is still on board. The deputies, she said, deserve a raise.
“It’s the same thing as people voting to raise minimum wage and sick leave,” she said.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of April 20, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
