Organizers of an effort to merge St. Louis city and county are pulling the plan for now, saying they want to find a new way to reform St. Louis-area government that includes a local, rather than statewide, vote.

The so-called Better Together plan sought to end separation of the city and county that occurred in 1877, touting the proposal as a way to save millions of dollars in costs by improving efficiency. But the plan had widespread opposition from many of the roughly 90 municipalities in St. Louis County.

The original plan called for a petition drive to place the issue on the statewide November 2020 ballot. Better Together advocates say they want to come up with a proposal that would be approved by city and county voters.