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Residents, relief groups urge St. Louis to release Rams settlement and emergency funds after tornado
Summary
Community organizations and residents told the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 31 that immediate, large-scale funding is needed to help people displaced by a late‑May tornado. Speakers asked the city to release Rams settlement interest and to fully fund the Impacted Tenants Fund and other housing supports.
Residents, volunteer organizations and housing advocates told the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 31 that the city must move quickly to put significant funds into emergency relief and long‑term rebuilding after a tornado that struck North and West St. Louis.
Across more than a dozen public comments, speakers said volunteers and grassroots groups are running day‑to‑day response operations but that city financial support is urgently needed. "We are talking to people every single day whose lives have fallen apart," said Rachel Hurtado, who testified from the People’s Response hub at the O’Fallon Park YMCA. "This fund needs to be in the millions at this point to even come close to addressing a fraction of the need."
Advocates asked the city to make multiple near‑term moves: fully fund and expand the Impacted Tenants Fund; make emergency housing and tarping resources available now; and use proceeds or interest from the Rams settlement fund (referred to in testimony as “Rams money”) and other city revenue sources to provide substantial relief rather than leave resources idle.
Speakers described the scale of volunteer and neighborhood efforts: one organizer said the People’s Response hub is serving about 300 families a day and that 1,600 volunteers came through a single weekend distribution; another speaker described organizing roughly 3,000 volunteers to clear debris. Immense demand, speakers said, has outpaced formal municipal response in some neighborhoods.
Several organizers cautioned about longer-term displacement risk if funds are not released quickly. "If the city continues to wait, people will continue to die, and black working class St. Louis that has lived here for generations ... will be forcibly displaced," said Rachel Hurtado. Kenar Williams, a housing‑justice organizer with Action St. Louis, said volunteers are working around the clock but that volunteers are not a substitute for government resources.
Other public commenters urged the Board to identify and redirect local revenue sources and incentives (including sales tax exemptions and other development incentives) toward recovery. Jerry Connolly suggested reviewing development incentives administered by the St. Louis Development Corporation for possible reallocation to tornado recovery and affordable housing.
Several speakers mentioned logistical gaps: insufficient hotel rooms for displaced families, seniors without adequate shelter, people living in partially demolished buildings, and reports of theft and predatory offers at damaged sites. Organizers asked the committee to accelerate amendments and to allow interest from settlement funds to be used immediately for housing and rebuilding.
Ending: Committee leadership said it will continue amendment work this week and that a Board vote on the Impacted Tenants Fund is expected; committee members and staff indicated they were hearing the public concerns and exploring budget amendments.
