ST. LOUIS 鈥 An extra $5 million for police overtime pay and $53 million in additional economic development efforts would be covered by a federal pandemic aid plan submitted Tuesday by Aldermanic President Lewis Reed.
The proposal, an alternative to the proposal announced June 15 by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, is expected to go before an aldermanic committee Wednesday and the full Board of Aldermen on Friday.
In all, the $153 million package is almost double the $81.4 million plan outlined by the mayor, which was based largely on recommendations from a stimulus advisory panel she appointed.
Mary Goodman, Reed鈥檚 legislative director, said the vast majority of Jones鈥 proposals are in Reed鈥檚 bill. An exception was $5 million targeted by the mayor for lump-sum payments of up to $500 to some low-income and unemployed residents.
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Goodman and Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, chairman of the aldermanic panel reviewing the issue, noted that Jones鈥 office had yet to say how people would be selected for those payments.
鈥淭here was a lot of concern among members of the committee鈥 at the lack of specifics, Goodman said.
Nick Dunne, a spokesman for Jones, complained that Reed鈥檚 proposal 鈥渢akes $5 million in direct cash assistance right out of the pockets of St. Louis families.鈥 He said the mayor鈥檚 team continues to review how other cities run such programs to see what method works best.
Meanwhile, Dunne said 鈥渨e鈥檙e happy to see that most of our priorities are in there,鈥 referring to Reed鈥檚 bill.
Among those are $3 million for efforts to step up COVID-19 vaccinations in the city, $12.4 million to help residents pay rent and utility bills and $2.5 million to cover mortgage payments.
The $5 million for police overtime that Reed wants added essentially would replace $4 million deleted at Jones鈥 request from police allocations in the city鈥檚 regular 2021-2022 city budget.
That budget, which shifted the funds to affordable housing, homeless services and other items, went into effect Thursday.
Some of the $4 million, earmarked for 98 long-vacant police officer positions that the city has been unable to fill, had instead been used over the years for overtime that exceeded amounts budgeted for that purpose.
Reed had voted against Jones鈥 budget shift because of the overtime issue.
Asked about Reed鈥檚 new police proposal, Dunne said only that the administration is reviewing the federal guidelines for the latest round of pandemic aid to see if it qualifies.
President Joe Biden last month said cities experiencing an increase in gun violence could use pandemic money to hire police 鈥渘eeded for community policing鈥 and to pay their overtime.
Reed鈥檚 development package includes $20 million to a new citywide fund to renovate dilapidated or abandoned buildings and develop vacant land and $33 million to aid four commercial corridors on the north side.
The biggest outlay, $20 million, would aid efforts to revitalize Martin Luther King Drive. Similar initiatives along West Florissant and Natural Bridge avenues would get $5 million each and a North Grand Boulevard fund would get $3 million.
The money, Reed said, would provide grants to small businesses and economic development nonprofits and cover a percentage of total costs of business projects.
鈥淚t creates economic opportunity for areas of St. Louis that have been long neglected and gives our neighborhoods a chance to be stabilized,鈥 Reed said.
Off-limits for homeless camps
While Reed鈥檚 bill includes $2 million Jones requested for 鈥渋ntentional encampments鈥 for homeless people, it bars them from being located in 10 of the city鈥檚 28 wards as requested by their individual aldermen.
The off-limits wards are 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22 and 27.
The outdoor camps would be for people who won鈥檛 go to traditional shelters.
Reed鈥檚 bill also adds a conflict of interest provision that would prohibit any money from going to organizations with employees or board members on Jones鈥 stimulus advisory panel.
The city is set to get $517 million in federal money over two years under a plan passed by Congress earlier this year at Biden鈥檚 request, with about $249 million already received.
Jones wants to allocate $81.4 million of the $249 million for immediate direct relief for people and businesses hurt by the pandemic and take longer to review how to allocate the rest.
Mayoral aides, for example, have said an advisory committee with aldermanic input could be set up to review capital improvements that might get future funding.
Reed wants to allocate much more of the $249 million by July 16, when aldermen begin a two-month summer recess.
Reed鈥檚 proposal also would add:
鈥 $15 million for a home repair program, going beyond the $2 million allocated by Jones for repairs and other services for senior citizens.
鈥 $500,000 on expanding public Wi-Fi at city recreation centers, bus stations and other sites, on top of the $1.1 million allocated by Jones.
Reed and Jones both support using major portions of the federal aid for community health workers, behavioral health providers, community violence prevention programs, food assistance, youth jobs, youth basketball leagues and aiding small business.
The city Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the city鈥檚 top fiscal body, voted last week to endorse Jones鈥 version. If aldermen endorse Reed鈥檚 plan, the spending could end up in negotiations between the two boards.
This article was updated at 11 a.m. Wednesday.