Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026: Board Bill 62 Passed
Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
The Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee met on July 15, 2026, to consider Board Bill 62, the annual allocation of the St. Louis Works Money (a half-cent utility tax). The bill allocates approximately $6 million (up from $5.6 million last year) for streets and sidewalks, with an estimated $270,000 per ward. The committee passed the bill with a due pass recommendation (5-0) and scheduled it for full board consideration on July 20, 2026. The meeting also included updates on the 5050 sidewalk program and paving operations.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the minutes from Wednesday, July 8, 2026, was moved by Alderman from the 10th Ward, seconded by Alderwoman from the 1st Ward. The vote was 4 in favor (Alderman Boyd, Alderman Clark Hubbard, Vice Chair Schweitzer, Alderman Devotee, and Chair Browning). Minutes were approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public testimony was taken. One individual (Yasmin) attempted to join via Zoom but was not admitted as a panelist. The committee directed that any public comments be emailed to the chair or vice chair.
Discussion Items
- Board Bill 62 – St. Louis Works Money Allocation
- Chair Browning (sponsor) presented the bill, noting it is the annual allocation of the St. Louis Works tax revenue distributed among alders for streets and sidewalks. He emphasized the need to pass the bill before the legislative break so funds can be used.
- Mr. Darren Girdler, new 5050 program manager (30 days on the job), stated the bill's intentions are good overall. He reported a backlog of approximately 5,000 service requests (4,600 at last count) in the 5050 sidewalk program and is building a plan to address it.
- Commissioner Flake provided a detailed breakdown: the bill is boilerplate with four major accounts (including 5050 sidewalk, camera maintenance, and asphalt material/supplies). Total fund is $6 million, yielding about $270,000 per ward (up from $240,000 last year). He confirmed paving is underway in several wards (e.g., Alderman Son Ya's ward, Alderman Browning's ward next week, Alderman Aldrich's ward). He expressed confidence in meeting paving goals this year and praised Mr. Girdler's competence for the 5050 program, noting that the program will eventually transition to the Department of Transportation (DOT).
- Several aldermen (Devotee, Clark Hubbard, Cox Anthony, and others) requested to be added as co-sponsors. Alderman Devotee noted the 5050 program is a hot topic in his ward.
- Alderwoman Schweitzer inquired about the $250,000 per ward figure; Chair Browning clarified it is approximately $240,000–$270,000 per ward, split between asphalt and supplies categories.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to pass Board Bill 62 with a due pass recommendation was moved by Alderman from the 9th Ward, seconded by Alderwoman from the 10th Ward. The roll call vote was 5 in favor: Alderman Boyd, Alderman Clark Hubbard, Alderman Devotee, Alderwoman Cox Anthony, and Chair Browning. Vice Chair Schweitzer did not vote (she was chairing the discussion). The bill passed out of committee.
- Next steps: The committee will ask the full board to suspend the rules on Monday, July 20, 2026, to move the bill to perfection, with a final third reading and passage expected on Friday, July 24, 2026.
- No other committee discussions or announcements were scheduled. The meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Calling today's public infrastructure and utilities committee meeting to order. Madam Cork, please call roll. Audible woman boy. Hi. Audible clerk cover. Here. Vice Chair Swip, sir. President. Alderman Devotee. Audible Woman Cox family. Chair Swipe. Chair Browning, I'm sorry. Present. We have four present. We have a quorum. Thank you. With that, uh, we'll move on to approval of the minutes. I'll accept a motion to approve the minutes from Wednesday, July 8th, 2026. Some second. Moved by the Alderman from the 10th, seconded by the all the woman from the first. Madam Clerk, please call roll. Alder Woman Boyd. Aye. Audible woman clerk cover. Aye. Vice Chair Sweit, sir. Aye. Alderman Devotee. Alder Woman Cox and Tween. Chair Browning. All right. We have four I votes. Thank you. With that, the minutes are approved. We'll move on to the next item in our agenda, which is board bills for review. We have one board bill for review today, and that is board bill number 62. And that is my board bill. So at this time I will hand the chairmanship over to the vice chair, Alder Woman Schweitzer. Thank you, Chairman Browning. You are recognized on board bill 62. Thank you. So today we have Board Bill 62, which is our annual allocation of the St. Louis Works Money. As most of you know, the St. Louis Works Money is a uh tax that we bring in that gets distributed amongst the alders, and then we can spend it on streets and sidewalks. Uh this is one of the main funders of programs like the 5050 sidewalk program and others. Uh and we are eager to be able to spend this money on our streets and sidewalks, which I know we all have a lot of work to do out there. And so we're trying to get this bill done before we go on break so that that money can get into our accounts so that we can use it. So we will be asking to suspend the rules on Monday during our special full board meeting to move this to perfection. And I don't anticipate any issues with that because I think we'd all like to uh have this money available to spend to the benefit of our residents.
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