Budget and Public Employees Committee - September 30, 2026

The City of St. Louis Budget and Public Employees Committee met on September 30, 2026, and received an update on Board Bill 22 and the Rams settlement funds; no board bills or resolutions were considered for action. For the citywide infrastructure allocation, officials described preliminary plans for roughly $30 million in non-water projects, alongside $40 million designated for water infrastructure. Proposed uses include major street work, sidewalks, asset management, pedestrian lighting, hazardous-tree and stump removal, and improvements to three or four recreation centers. The estimates are preliminary, not engineering-level cost estimates, and no new spending or contract awards were approved at this meeting. Officials said major arterial paving would be contracted out and committed to reporting contract information and clarifying project-selection criteria. Downtown plans include a $30 million major-capital-project fund and a $10 million retail and event fund ($8 million for retail and $2 million for events); the application, screening, and award processes are still being developed. The city is also preparing a downtown innovation-zone application, with a target to apply by April 2027.

The committee also heard a North St. Louis recovery update. Of the $30 million in an earlier tornado-recovery allocation, officials reported that all funds had been awarded and contracted, with $23 million spent. For the Rams long-term recovery funding, $16.1 million had been awarded or contracted; other recovery work included state-funded demolition and home-repair contracts and substantial FEMA-reimbursable work. Recovery officials reported local and city-based contractor participation and said future updates would include MWBE and union participation data. They described upcoming home-repair and demolition phases, while noting that only a portion of the pilot repairs were complete and that some homes exceeded the program’s $50,000 repair cap. Public testimony raised questions about small-business assistance, home-repair progress, and meeting accessibility. Officials said they would provide additional program information and committed to better advance notice and evening meetings for future updates. Recovery staff also identified procurement-process improvements as a need, including pre-positioned contracts and RFPs and more efficient procurement structures; no procurement-related vote or new award was taken.