ST. LOUIS 鈥 Aldermanic President Lewis Reed鈥檚 pandemic aid package on Wednesday night easily cleared an aldermanic panel, which refused to add $5 million for direct payments to some low-income residents requested by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.
The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted 9-0 to send Reed鈥檚 $153 million measure to the full Board of Aldermen, which is expected to debate it Friday.
The measure includes most of the rest of Jones鈥 own $81.4 million plan for spending the next round of federal aid.
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But it adds $5 million for police overtime pay, $20 million for renovating dilapidated and abandoned buildings, $33 million to spur development along four major north St. 不良研究所导航网址 streets and various other items.
鈥淭his is just a phenomenal opportunity for the city at large to have a transitional moment,鈥 Reed said. He said the measure will aid parts of the city 鈥渢hat have been long left behind.鈥
Jones鈥 spokesman, Nick Dunne, criticized the panel for its 6-3 vote against adding the one-time direct payments of up to $500 for low-income people.
鈥淓ven a single $500 check can make a major difference for thousands of St. 不良研究所导航网址 families, to pay their bills and put food on the table,鈥 Dunne said. 鈥淢ayor Jones鈥 administration will continue to advocate for an equitable recovery, driven by data and community feedback, that helps all St. 不良研究所导航网址ans thrive.鈥
Alderman Shane Cohn, 25th Ward, who voted 鈥減resent鈥 on the overall bill, made the unsuccessful effort to add Jones鈥 direct payment.
鈥淚 know there are so many people who need this,鈥 said Alderman Sarah Martin, 11th Ward, who supported Cohn鈥檚 move.
But Tom Shepard, Reed鈥檚 chief of staff, complained that mayoral aides at a hearing held by the committee didn鈥檛 offer specifics on 鈥渨here the money would go.鈥
Before the meeting Jones in a letter to Reed gave more details.
She said the money would be available to about 10,000 residents in households that earn less than 80% of the city's median income.
Applicants would have to show proof of economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as job loss, an increase in child care expenses or funeral expenses due to a coronavirus-related death.
The extra information didn鈥檛 sway the panel.
One opponent, Jack Coatar, 7th Ward, noted that Reed鈥檚 measure, as requested by the mayor, provides $12.4 million to help individuals pay rent and utility bills and millions more in other assistance.
Coatar said he鈥檇 rather that money be spent on such targeted aid instead of 鈥渃ash giveaways.鈥
Meanwhile, the committee, with Reed鈥檚 support, voted unanimously to remove a provision that would have barred any aid money from going to agencies with employees or board members on a stimulus advisory panel that advised Jones on the issue.
That amendment, sponsored by Bret Narayan, 24th Ward, was introduced after the mayor鈥檚 office pointed out before the session that it would have barred any money going to organizations such as the United Way of Greater St. 不良研究所导航网址 and the Bi-State Development Agency.
The committee instead added wording requiring a competitive process to select grant recipients.
The committee also added two more wards, the 7th and the 10th, to the areas in which 鈥渋ntentional encampments鈥 for homeless people would be barred.
Reed鈥檚 bill unveiled Tuesday had included 10 other wards declared off limits for such sites, as requested by their aldermen. The off-limits wards already listed in Reed鈥檚 bill are 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22 and 27.
Reed鈥檚 bill includes the $2 million Jones requested for the encampments, which would be set aside for people who won鈥檛 go to indoor shelters. There鈥檚 also more than $20 million in other services for the homeless sought by Jones.
Reed鈥檚 development package was lauded by committee chairman Jeffrey Boyd, 22nd Ward, who pushed for the street corridor plan.
鈥淲e need to move at warp speed on rebuilding our neighborhoods,鈥 Boyd said.
The money would provide grants to small businesses and nonprofits and cover a percentage of total costs of projects on Martin Luther King Drive, West Florissant and Natural Bridge avenues and North Grand Boulevard.
However, Martin said the Reed bill contains 鈥渟ome random development ideas with no data.鈥
鈥淭his is ... kind of just throwing stuff at the wall in a lot of ways,鈥 Martin said.
The panel voted 10-0 to include the police overtime money in the measure. The amount essentially would replace $4 million deleted at the mayor鈥檚 request from police allocations in the city鈥檚 2021-22 budget that took effect last week.
If the full board endorses Reed鈥檚 bill Friday, it will be at odds with the city Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which backed Jones鈥 plan last week. A Reed aide said he hopes the aldermanic version can be brought before the estimate board next week.
The city is set to get $498 million in federal money over two years under a plan passed by Congress earlier this year, with about $249 million already received.
City Budget Director Paul Payne said Wednesday that under an earlier estimate the city was expected to get $517 million but that the amount changed.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the income level of people who could qualify for a proposed direct assistance payment of $500.