St. Louis County Council members are pushing back on a proposal to cut 28 park ranger positions, floating alternatives that include selling unused park land.
Council members also raised the possibility of renegotiating lease deals with Laumeier Sculpture Park and the Missouri Botanical Garden's Butterfly House. The pushback came at a Budget Committee hearing Tuesday, Oct. 13, where rangers and the acting parks director testified about the impact of the cuts proposed in County Executive Sam Page's 2027 budget, as reported by STLPR.
Page's budget would eliminate 28 of the county's 34 park ranger positions, leaving just six rangers. The cuts are part of a broader $930 million spending plan that slashes nearly $70 million from the county's operating budget and eliminates 139 positions across departments, according to Fox 2.
District 7 Councilman Mark Harder, whose district includes Chesterfield, Ballwin, Ellisville and Wildwood, proposed selling small or unused park properties to generate revenue.
"Giving away some of those fringe properties, or selling those fringe properties, will help us keep the bigger properties," Harder said.
Eric Johnson, acting director of the Parks and Recreation Department, disagreed. He said selling land is not a long-term fix, asking what the county would do when it runs out of small parks and floodplains to sell.
Lease agreements also drew scrutiny. Johnson told the committee the county provides staff and pays for repairs at Laumeier Sculpture Park and the Butterfly House but receives no revenue from tickets or events at those facilities. He said he would like to renegotiate the long-term agreements, noting the Butterfly House lease still has 25 years remaining.
Harder questioned whether those partners are pulling their weight, calling on them to be true partners and asking why the county is broke if no one examines these arrangements.
The budget cuts go deep. Johnson testified that the proposed budget already pauses projects, including updates to Queeny Park's Jarville House, defers maintenance such as repairing Cliff Cave Park's bathroom, and eliminates programs like summer camps. He said the department is becoming a passive-use operation with very few services and expressed fear about what 2028 would bring.
Park ranger Mike Keithley told the committee that rangers responded to more than 8,500 calls this year. He said rangers patrol more than 70 parks and 180 miles of trail. Keithley added that police officers may not have the time or knowledge to handle those calls, particularly in parks in unincorporated areas where municipal police departments are not obligated to respond.
Ranger Lisa McLeod, who has served since 2011, said she faced the same threat of job cuts early in her career. She told the council that the public rallied behind the parks department then and her position was saved. McLeod also said she has seen Facebook comments from people who may take advantage of rangers' absence, including threats to poach deer and kill elk at Lone Elk Park, a 546-acre wildlife management area.
The county parks system welcomed about 9.3 million visitors in 2025, according to a St. Louis County Parks Department newsletter. Rangers issued 3,600 warnings and 840 citations in 2025.
The County Council must approve a final budget by the end of the calendar year. A public town hall on the budget is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m.
