St. Louis Board Approves Contracts, Capital Transfers and Staffing Changes; Postpones Public Safety Item

ST. LOUIS — On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment approved a set of contracts and leases, authorized transfers between capital-improvement projects and approved multiple changes to departmental tables of organization, and postponed one public-safety staffing transfer.

The board voted unanimously to approve agenda items 1 through 4, which the comptroller's office presented as: approval of contracts and leases for various city departments (exhibit A); approval of transfers between projects for capital improvement funds (exhibit C); personnel changes in the Commissioner of Health’s table of organization in fund 1110 (deletions and additions across administrative assistant, clerk-typist, licensed practical nurse, public health program supervisor and public health nurse classifications, plus additions of a public information officer, health marketing administrator and program manager 2); and a personnel conversion in the Department of Public Utilities (conversion of a vacant civil engineer level 3 position to a civil engineer level 2 position).

Mayor Spencer called the meeting to order and, after discussing the posted agenda, asked that item 5 — a requested transfer of an executive assistant position from the Office of Violence Prevention (position 619) to the director’s office (position 610) in fund 1110 — be removed from the current agenda and held for later consideration. A board member then moved to approve items 1 through 4; the motion passed on a roll call vote with Mayor Spencer, Comptroller Bollinger and President Green recorded as voting aye.

Comptroller Bollinger used the meeting to raise an oversight request about future contract approvals. "My reputation has always been being a fiscal hawk," Bollinger said, and asked that future contract packets include a formal risk assessment. "I'd like what's called a risk assessment. And we actually have a template for a risk assessment. And, I will work with your office and the president's office, and we can get together so that we can do that moving forward ... It's just a risk assessment assessment for who we're giving money to," Bollinger said.

The board’s approvals were procedural votes on the items as presented in the agenda exhibits; the meeting record does not show any amendments to the listed contracts, transfers or staffing changes. The clerk recorded the roll call and the board adjourned following the approvals and a brief discussion about the held item.

Why it matters: The Board of Estimate and Apportionment is the body that reviews certain city contracts, capital transfers and organizational staffing requests; the action clears funding movements and staffing adjustments for departments including public health and public utilities. The comptroller’s request for a formal risk-assessment template signals an intention to add a standardized oversight step to future contract reviews.