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Page's Letter To Webb

The letter from the St. Louis County Executive updates the Council Chair on the status of spending ARPA funds, noting over $137 million has been spent so far. While some funds went to new nonprofit services, cuts to county departments make it difficult to manage these initiatives. The Executive proposes reappropriating unspent funds to lost revenue to avoid federal clawbacks and allow the Council to reestablish new program priorities.

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4K views2 pages

Page's Letter To Webb

The letter from the St. Louis County Executive updates the Council Chair on the status of spending ARPA funds, noting over $137 million has been spent so far. While some funds went to new nonprofit services, cuts to county departments make it difficult to manage these initiatives. The Executive proposes reappropriating unspent funds to lost revenue to avoid federal clawbacks and allow the Council to reestablish new program priorities.

Uploaded by

KevinSeanHeld
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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May 24, 2024

Honorable Shalonda Webb, Chair


Lawrence K. Roos County Government Building
Clayton, Missouri 63105

Chairwoman Webb,

Thank you for your correspondence dated May 21, 2024, regarding the status of American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

As of May 22, St. Louis County has spent over $137 million of our total $193.1 million ARPA
allocation. We have utilized these funds to assist in our response to the pandemic through public
health services including vaccination and testing, paying our essential workers, providing
household utility and eviction prevention assistance, restoring the devastating impact the
pandemic and subsequent recession had on the county’s finances, and many other impactful
initiatives.

In addition to the above-mentioned initiatives, the Council passed legislation which appropriated
funds to some nonprofits to provide new services in areas that County has not typically worked
before. These projects represent around $12.5 million of our total ARPA allocation.

As you know, the Council cut $15 million from the budget I submitted and there were no increases
in revenues for the continued operation of essential County services. These cuts have hampered
our ability to deliver on the important ARPA programming that the Council approved due to
specific cuts to County departments, which are vital in the creation, managing, and monitoring of
these novel initiatives. My duty is to maintain the County’s basic needs and responsibilities to its
residents, including roads, bridges, public safety, public health, workforce development, planning,
human services, and the overall effective delivery of County services.

Though the nonprofits that you mention in your letter can address needs in our community, many
of these are unique functions which typically have been funded either through private or state
funds. Putting the County into these new spaces requires a lot of additional work, beyond just
simply cutting a check. Entering into a subrecipient arrangement with these organizations can
require years of monitoring and compliance responsibilities. If not done correctly, it is the County
who would be on the hook for repaying the funds back to the Federal government.
I will not introduce and launch new commitments of the County unless and until we are able to
effectively deliver upon the basic responsibilities of County government.

The deadline for ARPA SLFRF funds to be obligated is December 31st of this year. I am ready and
willing to continue conversations with the Council to appropriately address the needs of the
community as well as providing the resources to fund the vital responsibilities the County is
obligated to do. As always, I invite you to join me for a conversation at our regularly scheduled
time or at a time convenient for you.

In your letter you asked for a next step to further assist our community with these funds. The best
path forward would be to reappropriate the unspent ARPA funds to lost revenue, directly into the
general fund, and remove any risk of losing these ARPA funds to federal claw back. The Council
could then reestablish spending priorities for new programs through general revenue or NFL
settlement funds. Doing so would save $10 million in compliance fees. This additional $10 million
could be used to address a consensus priority such as the UMSL campus project or others not
similarly appropriated.

I look forward to continuing the conversation with you and the rest of the Council.

Regards,

Sam Page
Saint Louis County Executive

Cc: Rita Days, Kelli Dunaway, Dennis Hancock, Lisa Clancy, Ernie Trakas, Mark Harder
Gigi MacMullan, Refuge and Restoration
Erica Williams, A Red Circle
Janett Lewis, Rustic Roots Sanctuary Co.
Beth Ann Lang, Child Care Aware of Missouri (CCAMO)
Karen Nolte, FamilyForward
Michael McMillian, Urban League
Judge Michael Burton, SLSLS
Cynthia Bennett, JADASA

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