ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) – More than $10 million of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars remain allocated but unspent by St. Louis County, as the county executive says the budget isn’t sufficient to spend the money.
Now, County Executive Dr. Sam Page wants to put that money in a different pot.
“We didn’t do what we were told to and that’s the rub,” said Councilmember Rita Heard-Days.
A feisty end to the St. Louis County Council meeting Tuesday saw some council members upset that millions of federal dollars already awarded to nonprofits have not been divvied out.
The money must be spent by the end of the year or the county would lose it.
“We are truly at gridlock over this,” said Councilmember Lisa Clancy.
The council allocated money to nonprofits over a year ago. But after the budget passed last year, Page said there wasn’t enough money for staff to actually spend the money and follow American Rescue Plan guidelines.
Now, Page wants to take the $12.5 million and put it in general county revenue.
“Being in elected office is frustrating. And the best path forward is to sit down and talk about a path forward that works the best for everyone,” said Page.
Page says the council could then, later, go back and use general revenue or Rams settlement money to pay the nonprofits, avoiding any federal guidelines.
“With less risk and less expense,” said Page.
Chair Shalonda Webb argues the county already spent most of the ARPA money for basic county expenses as they navigate a budget deficit.
“We have a small slice of this pie to give to members of our community who are suffering,” Webb said.
One of the organizations awarded the money is Family Forward, which aims to give vulnerable youth, many of whom are in the foster care system, mental health services across the region, but they’re still waiting for the money.
“So the funding is actually helping us serve more,” said Jessica Dederer.
Chief Development Officer Jessica Dederer and CEO Karen Nolte say Family Forward wants to double the number of kids they help since the beginning of the pandemic. Leadership has since used rainy day money to pay for their commitment.
“It’s not a sustainable situation, but given that we have made commitments for our budget, we needed to do something right away to make sure those kids were served,” said Nolte.
They’re still looking for alternatives, but they say they don’t have a donor that can give out $800,000 if they lose the county’s ARPA money.
“Our waiting list continues to grow, so we’re looking for new and creative ways for how we can reach those kids and their caregivers,” said Dederer.
Both women say they’re grateful for being awarded the money but need it to continue to help St. Louis County youth and their caregivers.
“We’re counting on this funding, we have been counting on this funding since it’s been appropriated since 2022,” she said.
Page, Webb, and Representative Cori Bush plan to meet Friday to work out a solution. Until then, Family Forward will keep using reserves.
Page also said if the council were to follow his plan, it would likely take a few months to reallocate money to the nonprofits.
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