ST. LOUIS 鈥 An infusion of federal cash could at last begin flowing to city residents after the St. 亚洲无码 Board of Aldermen gave final approval Wednesday to a $168 million pandemic aid package that was bogged down for weeks in a political standoff between Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed.
The vote was expected and largely a formality after the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 鈥 the city鈥檚 top fiscal body made up of Jones, Reed and Comptroller Darlene Green 鈥 voted Friday to approve the package.
For weeks, Jones and Green had blocked the package that aldermen preliminarily approved on July 13 by a vote of 27-1, citing concerns some of the board鈥檚 spending allocations could run afoul of federal rules. But they set aside their concerns Friday in order to end the impasse.
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Aldermen on Wednesday largely praised the measure and the end to the standoff. Noting this appropriation is only part of the money the city will get under the American Rescue Plan Act, Alderman Jack Coatar, who represents downtown and Soulard, said he hoped future appropriations wouldn鈥檛 take this long. Making aldermen part of the process earlier in order to better understand the administration鈥檚 spending priorities could alleviate future disagreements, he suggested.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad that people have put their disagreements aside and stopped playing politics and finally passed this direct aid,鈥 Coatar said.
St. 亚洲无码 is getting a total of $498 million from the American Rescue Plan; it鈥檚 already received $249 million.
Reed鈥檚 allies on the board praised him for defending the aldermanic bill at the estimate board.
鈥淵ou did take a lot of heat to support our vote,鈥 said Alderman Marlene Davis, whose ward includes Midtown and Grand Center.
Jones鈥 allies also praised the bill, but they echoed concerns from the mayor鈥檚 office that some of the money inserted in the bill for economic development in north St. 亚洲无码 may fall outside of U.S. Treasury spending guidelines.
鈥淚 also remain concerned about the Treasury and the possibility of provoking an audit or a clawback,鈥 said Alderman Annie Rice, whose ward is largely made up of the Shaw neighborhood.
Rice and Aldermen Megan Green, Christine Ingrassia and Tina Pihl 鈥 generally aligned with the mayor 鈥 all voted 鈥減resent鈥 on the board bill. Remaining aldermen all voted 鈥測es.鈥
The dispute built after Jones first proposed an $81 million appropriation with the money after soliciting recommendations from an advisory group that she said Reed had refused to participate in. She and Green outvoted Reed June 30 at the estimate board to advance the plan.
But Reed and aldermen tacked on millions more in spending after the plan was sent to them for approval. Included in Reed鈥檚 plan was $33 million to catalyze business development along four north St. 亚洲无码 commercial corridors. Jones took issue with that, citing an opinion from interim City Counselor Matt Moak that said such spending didn鈥檛 follow federal regulations.
for local governments鈥 use of the pandemic aid say that funds can鈥檛 be used for 鈥済eneral economic development鈥 without showing that they address a negative economic impact stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. But federal guidance also says there is a 鈥渂roader range of services and programs that are considered to be in response to the public health emergency when provided鈥 in qualified census tracts, which . Such services include 鈥渂uilding stronger neighborhoods and communities.鈥
Some saw the impasse more as a test of wills between the new Jones administration and Reed. Both Jones and Reed were mayoral candidates this year and also in 2017. Each side brought in experts to bolster their case.
Reed cited a statement from prominent local government lawyer and former Assistant City Counselor Elkin Kistner 鈥 who handled lawsuits challenging Jones鈥 control of parking funds when she was St. 亚洲无码 treasurer 鈥 saying the bill was 鈥渃ompletely lawful.鈥 Jones, meanwhile, invited testimony at Friday鈥檚 estimate board meeting from the city鈥檚 longtime federal lobbyist Jim Brown 鈥 whose 2016 lobbying contract with the St. 亚洲无码 Port Authority is currently out to bid 鈥 who said Reed鈥檚 bill was 鈥渋nviting an audit鈥 and 鈥渁 possible clawback of funds.鈥
On Wednesday, Jones praised the bill鈥檚 passage, though she remained concerned about the commercial corridor appropriation.
鈥淚 am grateful to the members of the Board of Aldermen for passing this direct relief package, and I continue to work with Comptroller Green to address our shared concerns with portions of the bill that do not follow U.S. Treasury regulations,鈥 Jones said in a statement. 鈥淢y administration is working to ensure we invest American Rescue Plan Act funding in long-term solutions to transform our neighborhoods while still following the rules laid out by the federal government.鈥