Michael Butler On Rams Settlement Spending

Photo from Michael Butler’s website.

Following Mayor Jones and Board of Aldermen President Green releasing their joint proposal for spending the remaining Rams settlement funds, which they have named the TransformSTL Act. There has been much discussion about the proposed plan, and aldermen have begun to study and comment on it. Some observers have called the proposal forward-thinking and a smart way to ensure ongoing funding for the city’s needs. Others have worried that it would limit the settlement’s potential impact. Critics say that it will be spent too slowly and in a manner that fails to focus the investments in a manner that creates impact.

Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler, who is facing mayor Jones in the upcoming March primary, has his own proposal for spending the remaining Rams settlement money. “Many of our neighbors and neighborhoods are hurting now. They need their city leaders to deliver on a plan in the coming weeks and not the coming years,” stated Butler. “Both current Rams Settlement Funds spending plans rely on private-sector matching funds that have not been raised yet. These ‘capital’ campaigns take years to complete, and sometimes come with demands that rich people make when they donate their money. This means that our public money will likely get outsized influence from wealthy donors who likely do not live in Saint Louis City, and any community benefit will be delayed until the City agrees to the terms.”

Butler went on to outline his proposal, which includes:

• Wrap-Around Services in 20 Schools- $15 million
  • Return funding for community schools in the city budget at $3 million per year for 5 years, with $300,000 per year for state and federal advocacy efforts. Community Schools funding helps the city and its community partners deliver its services to our children focusing on eliminating food and housing insecurity. IT would also provide mental health services, laundry services, community health services, and Office of Violence Prevention initiatives. 20 local schools in high-poverty neighborhoods will be selected to receive these services. 
• Public Safety – $26 million
  • Approve Police Department fleet and equipment Improvements – $8 million 
  • Continued 5-year investment in Office of Violence Prevention initiatives – $18 million
• Build and Repair Single-Family Housing Stock – $34 million
  • Build in-fill single-family, market-rate housing in neighborhoods just north of Delmar Blvd. and just south of Gravois Ave. These houses would be sold at cost – $20 million
  • Expand existing Housing Repair programs for residents in the entire city – $9 million
  • Expand down payment and closing cost assistance grants for residents in the entire city – $5 million
• Downtown Housing and Beautification – $40 million
  • High-Impact Building Rehabilitation – $30 million 
  • Housing Initiative – $10 million 
• Infrastructure Capital Projects – $155 million
  • Pave streets, fill potholes, streetscape improvements – $50 million
  • Water Infrastructure Improvements – $40 million
  • Sidewalks – $10 million
  • High-Impact Building Rehabilitation – $55 million

“My plan for Rams settlement funding focuses on increasing population, investing in downtown, and improving infrastructure. For months my team has connected with voters on this topic in every part of this city. We’ve heard from them that improving public safety, schools, and housing will directly attract more people to move to our city,” said Butler.

When asked about the timeline he is proposing and how it compares to the plan put forward by Mayor Jones and President Green, Butler agreed with critics who call the timeline too drawn out. “I support the plan’s spending amounts on infrastructure improvements, but not its timeline to wait until interest and private funding is raised,” said Butler. Butler also noted that his plan’s timeline for expenditure “has a goal to occur within the next 2 fiscal years.” He concluded his appraisal of the mayor’s idea to create trust funds that generate interest income to be spent on these ideas by saying “the Rams settlement funds are not a savings account, it is a boost to what should be an existing vision to increase population and fix our obvious eyesores now.”

The TransformSTL Act will now go through the legislative hearing process. There is a competing proposal from Ald. Boyd that the aldermen will also be considering.

Note: The Spencer campaign was also contacted for comment. As of publication, MCM has yet to receive a response. In the event a response is given, we will run it as a companion article.

Disclosure: Author has worked for both Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler and Alderman Cara Spencer on past campaigns.