St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Board of Aldermen President Megan Green have released their plans to use around $277 million in Rams settlement money to bolster citywide services and infrastructure.
The legislation, called the Transform STL Act and filed this week by Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, splits the money into six independent funds:
- $40 million for water infrastructure.
- $60 million for streets and sidewalks.
- $57.2 million to go to an endowment fund for children and families split between $37.2 million for affordable child care and $20 million for youth opportunities.
- $20 million for the city’s public workforce.
- $70 million for affordable housing.
- $30 million for neighborhood economic investment.
“From Delmar to Dutchtown to Downtown, every neighborhood deserves to benefit from this investment,” Jones said. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that will be used to transform the lives of many generations to come."
The city originally was awarded $280 million from the settlement, $30 million of which had to go to the convention center. It had invested the money in an account with the Missouri Securities Investment Program, where it has accrued at least $22 million in interest.
The legislation describes how the money can and cannot be spent, such as on matching funds for federal and state grants in the case of streets and water infrastructure.
“This structure gives city departments the dedicated capital needed to secure matching grants and low-interest loan programs,” Green said. “As departments make spending decisions, these funds will continue to grow in interest-bearing accounts — maximizing the settlement’s reach and amplifying its impact.”
A previous proposal put forward in November by board members Pamela Boyd, Laura Keys, Cara Spencer and Tom Oldenburg sought to allocate $232 million of the Rams money for parts of north St. Louis, southeast St. Louis and downtown. But the legislation wasn’t as clear about how the funding could be spent.
“This is a directional bill that really provides a direction path for how to invest these funds,” Spencer said when that legislation was introduced. “The specifics will be worked out.”
The legislation by Sonnier and backed by Jones and Green would also establish three new boards to oversee how funds are administered for affordable housing and neighborhood investment, the city workforce and the endowment fund for children and families.
“We know that our residents want to see our streets and water systems maintained, our children and families supported, and our neighborhoods and small businesses thrive,” Sonnier said. “This legislation helps ensure each corner of the city is reached and that all, not some, have an opportunity to be part of St. Louis’ transformation.”
Diverging views of the funding
The mayor and board president emphasized that their proposal for the Rams money reflects a partnership between their offices and city departments, as well as the priorities St. Louisans laid out when they gathered public input.
It’s also a response to the previously filed legislation that was the subject of a Committee of the Whole meeting by the Board of Aldermen in October and heavily advocated for by Greater St. Louis Inc., the regional organization that promotes business development.
It drew a pointed rebuke from Green, who said she was concerned that Greater St. Louis sought to circumvent the process for public input by “lobbying board members to introduce legislation on its behalf.”
“It demonstrates that [Greater St. Louis Inc.] sees itself and its interests above the many residents and stakeholder groups who spent months working with us in good faith to develop their ideas,” Green wrote in a November letter shared with media outlets. The organization "is a stakeholder in this process but it is not the only one.”
Greater St. Louis Inc. responded with its own letter to Green, criticizing how the board president led the public process for gathering input and feedback on ideas for the Rams settlement money. That letter also pushed back on Green’s stated preference of using the money for an endowment for the city, instead arguing St. Louis’ downtown is the city’s “true ‘endowment,’” citing the disparity between the revenue the neighborhood generates and its general expenditures.
“Downtown is in dire need of investment to retain the jobs and investment that produce that consistent return for the City as a whole. It would be reckless to allow the City’s economic engine to fall further into disrepair and neglect,” CEO Jason Hall said in his letter.
Hall is resigning as CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc. to take the top job at the Columbus Partnership.
In his November letter, Hall also said the St. Louis business community would match any city investment of Rams dollars in downtown by “at least two-to-one.” It’s a commitment Hall had made more than a month earlier to the mayor’s office in an Oct. 4 letter obtained by St. Louis Public Radio.
“Details on where these matching funds would come from continue to be very sparse,” said Conner Kerrigan, a spokesman for the mayor. “What is unclear is whether that investment is only tied to the passage of this bill, which is a bill the mayor’s office does not support.”
Greater St. Louis Inc. told St. Louis Public Radio on Wednesday morning that the St. Louis business community had already announced $340 million in new investments in the past six months, and that it had committed to a 2:1 match with an additional and nonduplicative investment of $200 million intended to go toward real estate and improvements in public spaces downtown if the city were to commit $100 million from the Rams settlement.
Furthermore, the organization said that it had been discussing the proposal since October 2023 with Jones and members of the Board of Aldermen.
“It is surprising that anyone would be caught off guard that this bill was filed,” a spokesperson for the organization wrote, adding, “it would be more surprising if this legislation was not filed.”
The rift between Green’s office and Greater St. Louis Inc. may be extending to the mayor’s office. Kerrigan said the office only became aware of the press conference by Boyd, Keys, Spencer and Oldenburg minutes before it started.
“Typically Greater St. Louis is such a closer partner with the mayor’s office, especially around downtown,” he said.
Kerrigan said the office will continue to work with the organization and praised its efforts to bring more people and energy downtown.
“We continuously have conversations with Greater St. Louis,” he said. “They’ve been a great partner, and we’re really grateful for that.”
This story will be updated.
