Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Process topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
St. Louis County council adopts liaison‑led approach and tight schedule for 2025 budget hearings
Summary
The St. Louis County Budget Committee approved a liaison‑led briefing format and one‑page template, set a Sept. 30 public meeting for liaison presentations, and directed staff to issue hearing instructions ahead of the county executive’s Oct. 1 budget submission.
Chairwoman Days said the Budget Committee will use council liaisons to lead departmental budget hearings and asked members to prepare concise, consistent briefings for the September 30 public meeting and the October budget season. “So we should be receiving the county exec's budget on October 1,” she said.
The committee approved a one‑page template that Chris Grama Howard, the council’s budget coordinator, will partially populate with standardized numbers (total operating budget, personnel, contracts) while liaisons will fill narrative fields and strategic investment requests. Chris told the committee he will provide roll‑up definitions and a sample department sheet and asked members to provide feedback within a week.
To shorten hearings, Chris instructed departments to submit handouts 24 hours in advance and limited department presentations to 15 minutes, followed by 45 minutes for liaison‑led discussion. “Departments will be given 15 minutes to make their presentation,” he said, adding that materials will be stored in a shared OneDrive folder for council members and assistants.
The chair said the liaison model aims to build subject‑matter expertise on the council and produce a more streamlined, fund‑by‑fund pipeline so that uncontested budget bills can move earlier in the process. Committee members agreed to keep Tuesdays and Thursdays open for hearings in October and November.
Next steps: Chris will send a memo and the hearing schedule to all department directors and council staff the same day; liaisons must return the completed one‑pager and supporting definitions ahead of the Sept. 30 public meeting.
