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HUDs committee advances ARPA reallocation as city stresses federal closeout compliance
Summary
The St. Louis HUDs committee adopted and passed board bill 161 committee substitute after a mayoral-staff briefing on ARPA closeout, removing several providers from the reallocation list for further review and voting to send the measure to the full board.
The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted to move board bill 161 out of committee after adopting a committee substitute. Vice Chair Sier moved to suspend the rules and adopt the substitute; the clerk recorded the affirmative votes and the board bill was advanced with a due-pass recommendation.
The committee heard a detailed briefing from Casey Milberg, chief of staff to the mayor, on the city's American Rescue Plan Act closeout work. Milberg told members the city received about $498 million in ARPA funds, that contracting deadlines have tightened and that the administration has shifted work to meet federal closeout and audit requirements. "We do not want to send a single penny back to the feds," Milberg said, describing intensified monitoring of invoices, tighter documentation and continued oversight of community providers and departments.
Members of the committee said they appreciated the administration's diligence. Sponsors also said several providers and dollar lines that had been flagged in the bill's original redline were removed from the committee substitute to allow more time for follow-up with those organizations and departments. The items pulled for further discussion included named providers that appear in the substitute's redline and fact sheet; sponsors said those entries were crossed out to permit more conversation before any final reallocation.
There were no public speakers on this item. After questions about process and a unanimous committee roll call on the motion to pass the measure out of committee, board bill 161 moved to the full board with a due-pass recommendation.
What happens next: board bill 161 will be scheduled for full-board consideration. Committee actions noted that departments will continue to work with the mayor's office and community partners on documentation, compliance and any remaining reallocation details required to meet ARPA closeout deadlines.
