St. Louis puts $230 million Rams settlement spending framework into effect

St. Louis has moved its Rams settlement spending plan into implementation, with Ordinance 72165 taking effect July 13 and the comptroller launching a public tracker for the money’s progress.

The ordinance appropriates $230 million into special funds for three broad purposes: tornado recovery and North St. Louis, citywide infrastructure and neighborhood improvements, and downtown revitalization. The Board of Aldermen approved Board Bill 22 by a 12-3 vote on July 2 before Mayor Cara Spencer signed it July 13.

For residents, the immediate issue is how quickly broad authorization becomes specific projects. The comptroller’s tracker is designed to show appropriations, contracts, encumbrances and expenditures as Rams-funded work advances through the city’s approval process.

What Ordinance 72165 authorizes

The ordinance establishes the city’s enacted $230 million appropriation and directs the money into new special funds. Its effective date means the legal spending framework is in place; it does not mean all of the money has been spent or contractually committed.

The three authorized investment areas are tornado recovery and North St. Louis; citywide infrastructure and neighborhood improvements; and downtown revitalization. Project-level results will depend on later approvals, contracts, encumbrances and expenditures.

First announced deployments

The mayor’s office said the city will immediately invest $2.5 million in North St. Louis work involving hazardous trees, dangerous stumps and damaged sidewalks that are not eligible for FEMA reimbursement. The announcement identifies the intended work, but does not by itself establish that every project has been completed or that the full amount has been spent.

The city also announced plans to transfer $40 million to the Water Division for essential repairs. Residents will need project records and accounting entries to determine when that money is transferred, committed and spent on specific repairs.

How residents can follow the money

Comptroller Donna M.C. Baringer announced the Rams Settlement Funds Transparency Tracker on July 16. The tracker is intended to follow funds from appropriation through contracting, encumbrance and expenditure.

The comptroller’s office said the tracker will be updated as Rams-funded contracts come before the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and as funds are encumbered for specific projects. That gives residents a way to distinguish an authorized spending category from money tied to a contract or committed to a defined purpose.

The first tracker material was published with the Board of Estimate and Apportionment’s July 15 meeting materials, according to the comptroller’s announcement. Future entries should provide a clearer record of which projects have advanced beyond the planning stage.

Why the figures are different

City materials refer to a broader $255 million Rams settlement authorization framework. That figure should not be treated as the amount appropriated by Ordinance 72165.

The ordinance page identifies a $230 million appropriation. The comptroller’s tracker, meanwhile, is intended to provide visibility into the broader settlement funds as the city reports activity through its approval and accounting systems.

The next accountability milestones are project contracts, Board of Estimate and Apportionment actions, formal encumbrances and expenditure records. Those records will show when the settlement money moves from an approved framework into committed and spent public funds.

Sources

• Ordinance 72165 — Rams Settlement Fund