A group of professors claim the nonprofit behind an effort to merge the city of St. Louis with St. Louis County vastly overestimated the plan's potential savings.
Webster University professor Jim Brasfield co-authored the report released Monday that says Better Together made critical errors in its tax revenue estimates and expense projections.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Brasfield and two University of Missouri-St. Louis professors claim the merger would only lead to tens of millions of dollars in annual deficits.
Better Together released an analysis in February that estimated the merger could save taxpayers $55 million in year one and more than $1 billion in the 10th year.
The nonprofit responded to the professors' report with a new analysis that says the consolidated government would distribute up to $526 million in tax revenue in its first year.
