For the first time in two years, the Board of Aldermen has approved the City of St. Louis’ budget, including a raise for Civil Service employees, $1 million toward paid family leave, and a $2,000 retention incentive for current employees.
Mayor Jones will sign the retention incentive bill immediately and will sign the full budget into law prior to July 1, the day it goes into effect. We will keep you informed on next steps, and Mayor Jones is grateful for the collaborative work across departments and the Board of Aldermen to get this legislation past the finish line.
In addition, the City of St. Louis has received the second half of the nearly $500 million from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Over the past few months, Mayor Jones has held a series of roundtable discussions with community leaders, town halls with City residents, and collected more than 5,000 responses to an online and printed community survey to help steer this remaining $249 million toward programs that will make our city stronger, safer, and fairer across racial lines and different zip codes.
The administration is currently analyzing this feedback and will present results to the Board of Aldermen’s Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning committee next week.
Mayor Jones looks forward to working with the Board of Aldermen to invest these funds equitably, responsibly, and transparently to ensure that the returns can be felt for generations to come.
Per Treasury guidelines, all funds must be allocated by 2024, and spent by 2026. A current update on the programming of ARPA funds can be found on the City’s Transparency Portal.
