Though he wasn’t a fan of the Better Together plan, Rusk doesn’t believe doing nothing is an option for St. Louis. He also thinks any future reforms should be sold on the basis of making government better, not cheaper.

“It’s tempting, but you must not sell any kind of a merger on the basis of saving money,” he said. “What you can sell is a better, more professional standard of service. You need to find a way to establish structures … that can facilitate cooperation, and then let people reap the benefits.”

Rusk endorses having the city re-enter St. Louis County, which could be accomplished through a board of freeholders. The St. Louis County Municipal League is already gathering signatures to start such a process.

That change alone, however, would do little to address the inequities that are one of the region’s most pressing problems. Rusk would like to see the Missouri Legislature expand St. Louis County’s sales-tax pool, ending the system where some cities keep revenue from sales inside their borders. He’d also like to see some property-tax sharing, as is done in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.