Board of Public Service presents FY26 budget; warns fleet, facilities and capital programs face tight funding

Board of Public Service President Rich Bradley on May 14 told the Budget and Public Employees Committee that the department’s FY26 operating request holds many divisions flat but that budget allocations fall short in several areas, including fleet parts and outside contract services, utilities and some capital-related line items.

Bradley told the committee the department requested $3,581,765 for the president’s office and received about $3,000,092, and that the department’s total budget request across divisions came to roughly $43.2 million in the materials he presented.

The request and discussion centered on five divisions: Soldiers Memorial (Division 930), Special Events (914), the president’s office, Facilities Management (903) and Equipment Services (fleet, 910). Bradley introduced division heads and repeatedly emphasized that most changes in the submitted budget are in personnel accounts while many operating lines were held flat.

“The Soldiers Memorial is the military museum, across Market Street,” said Dr. Linnea Magnusson, superintendent of Soldiers Memorial, as Bradley introduced the division. Magnusson told the committee the FY26 request of about $157,938 was effectively funded at $160,000 and that non-personnel accounts remain unchanged from last year.

Travis Houser, special events program executive, described the department’s new online permitting platform, “1 Stop Gov,” built on Salesforce and integrated into the City’s Cityworks system. Houser said 1 Stop Gov simplifies event applications, allows credit-card payments and should improve reporting once internal workflows are refined: “...we really improved the applicant’s process.” He told the committee that the pilot was funded outside the Office of Special Events budget and that budgeting for the platform will be handled at the city IT/central level as it expands to other services.

Facilities Management Commissioner Rick Ernst outlined flat staffing (71 positions) and said key operating lines were reduced from the department request. Ernst flagged a roughly $475,000 cut to facilities and grounds supplies, a nearly $190,000 reduction in funds for underground storage tank, lead and asbestos abatement, and about $919,000 less than requested for electric utilities (the department had budgeted for a projected Ameren rate increase). “We project what we believe will break,” he said, explaining that many repair needs are known only when failures occur.

Equipment Services Commissioner Chris Amos described a fleet inventory of about 3,700 vehicles and multiple funding shortfalls in parts and contractor services. The division requested about $24.7 million and received about $20.0 million. Amos said the department currently relies on outside contractors for technician staffing (the “LAUNCH” or “launch” contract) and for parts-room staffing (an IBS / NAPA parts contract) because of difficulty hiring civil-service mechanics and parts clerks. He said the launch contract has supplied technicians that the department later offers civil-service positions to: “The number of people who have transferred from LAUNCH...they recruited and worked at least 6 months with LAUNCH. They came over to civil service is 8 so far.”

Amos and Bradley warned the committee that parts price volatility and contractor costs could force the department to decline major repairs and surplus older vehicles if additional funding is not found. Amos said parts are rising “5 to 7%” in some markets and described a scenario where higher parts costs would force the department to surplus older units rather than repair them.

Committee members pressed officials on capital projects and deferred GOB (general obligation bond) money. Bradley said approximately $21 million of the 2023 GOB was allocated through ordinance 71661 and that roughly $5.1 million has been expended so far with the remainder staged for projects now in design or ready for construction. Alderman Browning asked about the Union/ Lindell pedestrian/Union Window bridge project, which Bradley said depends on an approximately $18 million federal surface-transportation match for design and construction. Bradley said project design is advancing and that “if for some odd reason those federal funds were removed, we would have to look at the GOB. We would have to look at capital.”

On the Southwest Avenue Bridge, Bradley said the project is “deep in design” and nearly ready to bid but that 1 temporary construction easement remains in negotiation with a property owner; he described the easement as “not even a taking of property” but a permission for temporary access and urged the property owner to cooperate to avoid a bridge closure for safety reasons. On the Tucker Cycle Track (an East-West Gateway project), Bradley said design is wrapping up and the project will be ready to bid.

Committee members asked about procurement and contracting timelines. Bradley described the typical process: confirm that funding is in the correct account, issue feasibility and construction assignments, then route requests to the comptroller. He said work-order turnarounds from the comptroller have ranged from about 30 days to as long as six months, and that the city uses a citywide contractor list and pre-authorized contracts to avoid lengthy re-bid time (which can add six to eight months). He cited RSMO 3 3 27 — the state law requiring licensed engineers to sign design documents — as a cause of extra time for engineered projects.

What the committee heard

- The Board of Public Service asked for flat staffing but noted several large operating shortfalls vs. its requests (notably in utilities, parts and contractor services). - Equipment Services continues to rely on an outside “launch” contractor to staff mechanics; commissioners described that as costlier per hour but necessary where civil-service recruiting has failed. - Multiple capital projects are in design; several depend on federal matches and general-obligation bond allocations. - 1 Stop Gov has modernized event permitting and payment for applicants; budgeting for the platform sits with citywide IT/finance rather than the events office alone.

Next steps and context

Bradley and division heads asked the committee to consider these shortfalls in upcoming budget deliberations and to advocate for quicker comptroller turnarounds for work orders. They also said they will monitor federal grant opportunities for capital matches and continue recruiting mechanics to transition LAUNCH contractors into civil service.

Sources and attribution

— Rich Bradley, President, Board of Public Service; Linnea Magnusson, Superintendent, Soldiers Memorial; Travis Houser, Special Events Program Executive; Kim Maloney, Fiscal Operations Supervisor; Rick Ernst, Commissioner, Facilities Management; Chris Amos, Commissioner, Equipment Services; questions and remarks from Alderman Shane C. (Browning), Alderman Alwin Velasquez, Alderman Devote and Chair Aldridge.

Ending

Officials emphasized the department will “make do” with available resources while urging the committee and administration to consider targeted additions in parts, contractor services and capital-match funding to avoid service impacts and to keep aging vehicles and facilities operational.