St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer said an effort kicked off Wednesday to recall him is without merit and the accusations against him are unfounded.
A group of five St. Charles residents filed an affidavit with the city that identified six ways that they allege Borgmeyer has violated city charter through conflicts of interest and other acts.
Though the recall effort began gaining momentum after a controversial data center was proposed in the city, the document does not directly address the data center.
“Recalling public figures is a pretty serious thing, and to do that with six possible accusations is a fishing expedition,” Borgmeyer said. “I would think they’d list six acts, not six possibles.”
Here are the affidavit’s six allegations and Borgmeyer’s response:
1. Potential undisclosed financial interest in a new real estate development
The people behind the recall effort, including St. Charles resident Olivia Cross, believe Borgmeyer may have an outstanding mortgage on the land planned for the Katy Trail Place townhomes being built on Main Street. Galt House LLC, which is registered under Borgmeyer’s name, transferred the deed for the plots to Katy Trail Place LLC for $1 in 2023.
The affidavit speculates that Borgmeyer may financially benefit from the construction of these townhomes and that the mayor has not disclosed under oath whether he has a financial relationship with the townhomes, and he has continued to vote in Planning and Zoning meetings, so he may be in violation of the city charter.
Borgmeyer said he sold Galt House LLC in August 2024 and he has no mortgage on that land. He said he told Cross this after she spoke at a city council meeting on Sept. 2.
2. Violation of hiring practices
The residents allege that, based on the minutes obtained from a closed city council work session in 2024, the mayor did not follow proper procedures while hiring a new I.T. director.
Borgmeyer said as far as he knows, the I.T. director position went through the proper approval process. He said hiring paperwork ends up on his desk all the time, and he likely signed it, and also said the candidate could not have been hired if the council didn’t approve it.
3. Sharing confidential information with non-city employees
The affidavit alleges that St. Charles real estate agent Adam Glosier, who Cross said is known as Borgmeyer’s godson, received confidential information from the mayor. Cross was not able to officially confirm that Glosier was Borgmeyer’s godson because baptismal records are private, she said.
Borgmeyer said Glosier is not his godson but is the son of a distant cousin.
“That is all conjured up,” he said.
On Aug. 1, 2019, Glosier sent an email to the mayor and other city officials about confidential city information, including plans for improvements near Highway 370, which was later proposed as the site for a controversial data center project that is now paused. Borgmeyer said these improvements were entirely unrelated to the data center, which was not proposed until later.
Glosier was not given a contract to consult the city until later that month, so the residents think his communication about city information violates the city’s confidentiality rules.
Cross also said that Borgmeyer is allegedly related to Clarice Hollrah, the owner of the land off Highway 370. Hollrah was mentioned in Glosier’s email in relation to the land. Borgmeyer said he has not seen or spoken to the Hollrah family in decades until he recently met with Clarice’s husband Gerald to apologize for his being dragged into the accusations.
“I didn’t even know the Hollrahs were part of the [data center] deal,” Borgmeyer said.
4. Donation from a city appointee
While Glosier was under contract with the city, he donated $5,000 to Borgmeyer’s 2023 mayoral campaign, according to documents included in the affidavit. It says this is a conflict of interest and in violation of two city codes.
The mayor confirmed that Glosier did make this donation but disagrees that it is a violation of city code.
5. Enabling a potential conflict of interest
The mayor appointed Glosier’s father and uncle to city boards. Since Glosier is still under contract with the city for his real estate consulting services, there is a possibility that he could act in their benefit, Cross said.
The mayor denied that this was an issue.
6. Expired terms for Parks and Recreation Board members
The terms of St. Charles Parks & Recreation Board members Mike Ryan, Anne Zerre and Larry Muench expired in May 2025.
The St. Charles city charter requires that the mayor appoints new members within 30 days of the expiration of a member’s term or 60 days after a vacancy. Ryan’s former position is currently vacant, but Zerre and Muench appear to still be serving, Cross said.
Borgmeyer explained that he has delayed filling these positions because of the active lawsuit between two city council members and the city regarding the constitutionality of a 2001 amendment that the parks board said gave it the authority over the sale of park land. The suit was filed by Ward 4 councilperson Mary West and former councilperson Bridget Ohmes in January, and raised community concern that the city may lose a park.
The mayor said the city council will not approve any appointments to the board before the lawsuit is settled, so although he found people he wanted to appoint to the expired positions, he is waiting to do so.
Deana Curtis, Amy Fonte, Peter Billing and Kerry Lee Kaufman signed the affidavit along with Cross. Borgmeyer said several of them have had issues with him in the past.
