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Residents tell St. Louis aldermen to reject police increases, demand funding for right-to-counsel, Code Blue and North City recovery
Summary
More than a dozen residents urged the Budget & Public Employees Committee to oppose proposed increases to SLMPD’s budget, accusing the department of excessive force and coordination with federal immigration enforcement, and demanded full funding for Right to Counsel, Code Blue, the Office of Violence Prevention and $150 million in North City recovery funds from Grama/Rams settlement balances.
Dozens of residents who testified at the Budget & Public Employees Committee hearing on May 20 urged aldermen to reject any police budget increase beyond the legal minimum and to redirect funds to programs residents said prevent violence and stabilize neighborhoods.
Speakers repeatedly asked for full funding of several program priorities: Right to Counsel for tenants facing eviction (requests in testimony ranged from $1.5 million to $2.5 million additional funding), Code Blue emergency housing (requested increases of $1.0–$1.5 million), and the Office of Violence Prevention (requests cited a roughly $4.1 million shortfall). Multiple commenters also urged $150 million from the Grama/Rams settlement be dedicated to North City tornado recovery.
Testimony included allegations and community claims about the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD). Mitchell Gegg (4th Ward) and several other speakers described a recent downtown shooting and said de-escalation measures were not used; Rosa Parks (6th Ward) and others accused SLMPD of misleading the public in past fatal shootings and cited longstanding distrust. Several speakers said SLMPD coordinates with federal immigration enforcement (ICE), an allegation raised without rebuttal at the hearing.
Several commenters criticized the absence of the Board of Police Commissioners and the department’s failure to present the budget in person; committee members said the police board was subpoenaed to appear before the committee next week. Multiple speakers connected police funding choices to long-term disinvestment in North City and to a need for preventative services rather than punitive responses.
Representative public remarks: - "The city should not give the police a budget of over $200,000,000… It is always worth repeating that Saint Louis has the deadliest police department per capita," — Mitchell Gegg (4th Ward). - "Mental health crises should not end in murder… Do not fund the police a penny more than required by law," — Rosa Parks (6th Ward). - "We need to fund the people before we fund repression," — James Myers (9th Ward).
Committee response: Alderman Browning thanked residents for testifying, acknowledged the legal challenges and said lawsuits and subpoenas are part of the process to determine how much the city is legally required to pay; members said they will consider amendments next week and emphasized the committee’s role in representing residents.
This hearing contained extensive emotional testimony and policy demands but no formal vote on the FY27 budget; the only recorded action was a motion to adjourn at the close of the session.
Sources: Public comment record at the May 20 Budget & Public Employees Committee hearing (transcript).
