Many residents at a Ferguson City Council meeting expressed displeasure over details of a citizens review board proposed to monitor the Police Department. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

Mariah Stewart, THE HUFFINGTON POST

ST. LOUIS (Huffington Post)– The municipal election in Ferguson, Missouri, this week captivated the nation’s attention by attracting a record-breaking voter turnout. But elections in many nearby municipalities, which share some of the same problems as Ferguson, saw lower voter participation.

Here’s a breakdown of what Election Day meant for some nearby towns:

Calverton Park
Square mileage: 0.41
Population: 1,293 as of 2010
Voters: 190 (for mayor)
Number of full-time officers: 15
Officers per 1,000 people: 12
Average officer salary: not provided
Police department budget: $587,626
Percentage of revenue from fines and fees: 66.3 percent

Take, for example, Calverton Park, which borders Ferguson and is part of the same school district. Taking up less than half of a square mile, Calverton Park is home to just over 3,000 residents. On Tuesday, the city’s former chairman of trustees, John A. Paunovich, was elected mayor with 152 votes, which was 80 percent. Paunovich recently told The New York Times that municipalities that have few or no businesses, like Calverton Park, do not have many ways to raise revenue. The city gets about 66 percent of its revenue from court fines and fees.

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