Latest news with #MeganGreen
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Louis plans $30M, Missouri $100M for tornado relief. How will they spend it?
ST. LOUIS – Three weeks after a devastating tornado tore through St. Louis, destroying thousands of homes and buildings, urgency is growing to secure the financial support needed to recover and rebuild. It remains unclear when and how much federal aid may be available for St. Louis. However, on a local and state level, two plans are gaining momentum to help mobilize major funding for recovery efforts. Those plans – one from the City of St. Louis and one from the State of Missouri – aim to inject tens of millions of dollars, upwards of nine figures, into the recovery process. If both plan are ultimately approved, how will the money be used to aid St. Louis in tornado recovery? To extents, that's still to be determined, but the city's and state's new bills offer some early clues. Proposed through St. Louis Board Bill 31 (Primary sponsor: Megan Green) On Friday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen formally introduced Board Bill 31, which calls to allocate $30 million from the the NFL Rams relocation settlement toward a 'tornado relief and recovery fund.' The fund would be maintained by the city treasurer and exclusively available toward services and resources considered part of the tornado recovery effort. 'Eligible uses' under the bill include: Providing services to 'prevent homelessness and displacement' for homeowners impacted by the tornado, such as home repairs, temporary housing, help with insurance deductibles and storage of personal belongings. Repairing tornado-damaged public infrastructure, such as streets, sidewalks, water systems, lighting and trees. Providing residents with financial and legal support through an 'Impacted Tenants Fund.' Matching funds for federal or state grants tie to infrastructure and housing recovery. Providing money to nonprofits for critical tornado-response gaps in staffing, shelter, technology and warehousing. Procuring goods and services eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Compensating city staff and administrative costs related to disaster response (capped at 5% of fund annually) The bill aims to prioritize underinsured or uninsured households. It also outlines 26 neighborhoods or landmarks as 'impacted areas' eligible for assistance through the relief fund, mainly in northside and westside neighborhoods. The bill expresses that the aid must be used to help impacted people, properties or public infrastructure and may not be used for personal expenses. Proposed through Missouri 2025 Special Session Senate Bill 1 (Primary sponsor: Lincoln Hough) At the state level, lawmakers have proposed $100 million for a Missouri 'disaster relief fund,' a key component to a broader $360 million emergency spending package (Senate Bill 1) passed by the Missouri Senate on Thursday amid the ongoing special legislative session. The bill authorizes the Missouri Department of Public Safety to distribute funds to 'any city not within a county' – a phrase that applies solely to the City of St. Louis – for disaster-related expenses. Though the bill doesn't outline exact uses, it ties funding to Gov. Mike Kehoe's request for a presidential disaster declaration. Kehoe's request includes FEMA individual assistance to support temporary housing, housing repairs, and replacement of damaged property and vehicles, among other things. With that in mind, it's possible the $100 million could cover the following such services or resources: Emergency response Cleanup and debris remobal Housing, shelter and storage assistance Infrastructure repairs Out-of-pocket expenses related to storm damage The funds would be available for use between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 and must comply with Missouri constitutional guidelines for emergency expenditures. The broader spending package would also authorize $25 million in emergency housing assistance, though that's not directly tied to the $100 million in tornado-specific funds. Both proposals – the city's and the state's – still need full approval. The St. Louis board bill would require a series or reviews and approvals from the Board of Aldermen and Mayor Cara Spencer. The Missouri special session bill still needs to clear the House before it could possibly be sent to Gov. Kehoe for review. With uncertainties on timing and dollars still looming with federal assistance, these local and state bills could represent some of the largest coordinated public investments in recovery since the May 16 St. Louis tornado. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Property Tax rebate approved for tornado victims
ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved a bill to provide tornado victims with a property tax rebate. Friday morning, the board passed board bill 24 to help ensure that homeowners who lost their home in this month's tornado will get some property tax relief. Their taxes will be eligible for a pro-rated rate. Another bill, board bill 23, was on the agenda for final passage, but it will now be held until Tuesday after being amended earlier this week. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Board Bill 23 would provide rental assistance to tornado victims through the city's Impacted Tenant Fund. The board of aldermen has met three times this week to discuss this bill. 'Typically a board bill from start to finish takes about a month, but this board is showing how we are moving diligently, and we are moving quickly,' Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said. Even if passed, though, it is unknown how many people will benefit. The funding for the rental assistance program sits at $100,000 right now, with another $160,000 expected to be allocated in the coming weeks. 'We are working with the budget director and the administration to identify other potential funding sources we can pull from in order to get more money into that fund. I think everybody recognizes that $260,000 is not going to be enough,' Board of Aldermen president Megan Green said. Jacqueline Hines has owned her home on Page for 18 years. The back wall of the brick house collapsed in the tornado. She says she is grateful for all of the relief options being considered, but until she knows she qualifies, she is not waiting around. 'Until then, we still have to keep going. I still need stuff to be moved and I'm not waiting on nobody. So if anybody needs a job, I'm hiring because I'm not sitting on this porch for the sun. It already burned me,' she said. If Board Bill 23 is approved on Tuesday, the city still needs to implement an application process. It is unclear exactly when renters would be able to apply for relief. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Journals
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Journals
Federal judge issues scathing order in Green's police takeover suit
A federal judge issued a scathing order in Megan Green's police takeover suit filed against Missouri, writing that "first-year constitutional law students" are taught that states enjoy sovereign immunity under the U.S. Constitution's 11th Amendment.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Louis and city official sue Missouri over the state's control of local police
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The city of St. Louis and the leader of its city council filed a federal lawsuit Monday against a new Missouri law putting a state-appointed board back in control of the local police department, putting St. Louis among a handful of major U.S. cities that don't fully oversee law enforcement. The president of the city's Board of Aldermen, Megan Green, argues in the lawsuit that the new law violates her rights to free expression, freedom of assembly and to petition state government, all guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The city says the law violates a provision of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits unfunded mandates from the state. The law, approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe last month, gives the governor the power to appoint four city residents as voting members of a new board to manage the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to serve along with the city's elected mayor, currently Democrat Tishaura Jones. The police department of Kansas City, Missouri, is overseen by such a board. Some critics suggested that Republican lawmakers wanted to wrest control of the police away from Jones, a Black woman, but Kehoe has said legislators were 'prioritizing public safety.' The lawsuit alleges that the new law violates Green's rights through vague and overly broad provisions that prohibit city officials from taking any action to 'impede, obstruct or interfere' with the state board, subjecting them to fines and removal from office. The new law also requires St. Louis to increase its spending on the police department each year through 2028. St. Louis first lost full control over its police department during the Civil War in 1861, when Missouri was sharply divided between Union and Confederate supporters. St. Louis and Kansas City had larger Black populations than other parts of the state and were centers of Union support. A pro-Confederate government persuaded the Legislature to give the state control of the local police. That control lasted until a statewide vote in 2012 decisively approved an amendment to the state constitution to allow St. Louis to take control of the police department. However, Republicans argued this year that it was necessary to return control to the state to restore order in the city following years of population loss, a rise in homicides, and power struggles between city leaders and GOP state officials.
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
St. Louis and city official sue Missouri over the state's control of local police
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The city of St. Louis and the leader of its city council filed a federal lawsuit Monday against a new Missouri law putting a state-appointed board back in control of the local police department, putting St. Louis among a handful of major U.S. cities that don't fully oversee law enforcement. The president of the city's Board of Aldermen, Megan Green, argues in the lawsuit that the new law violates her rights to free expression, freedom of assembly and to petition state government, all guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The city says the law violates a provision of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits unfunded mandates from the state. The law, approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe last month, gives the governor the power to appoint four city residents as voting members of a new board to manage the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to serve along with the city's elected mayor, currently Democrat Tishaura Jones. The police department of Kansas City, Missouri, is overseen by such a board. Some critics suggested that Republican lawmakers wanted to wrest control of the police away from Jones, a Black woman, but Kehoe has said legislators were 'prioritizing public safety.' The lawsuit alleges that the new law violates Green's rights through vague and overly broad provisions that prohibit city officials from taking any action to 'impede, obstruct or interfere' with the state board, subjecting them to fines and removal from office. The new law also requires St. Louis to increase its spending on the police department each year through 2028. St. Louis first lost full control over its police department during the Civil War in 1861, when Missouri was sharply divided between Union and Confederate supporters. St. Louis and Kansas City had larger Black populations than other parts of the state and were centers of Union support. A pro-Confederate government persuaded the Legislature to give the state control of the local police. That control lasted until a statewide vote in 2012 decisively approved an amendment to the state constitution to allow St. Louis to take control of the police department. However, Republicans argued this year that it was necessary to return control to the state to restore order in the city following years of population loss, a rise in homicides, and power struggles between city leaders and GOP state officials.
