51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Civic leaders convened by Mayor Cara Spencer鈥檚 transition team say the city should go on a police hiring binge, offer free college to attract new residents and invest boldly in downtown and the riverfront to rebuild the tax base.

In a report delivered earlier this month, they say the city should also set a goal of doubling downtown鈥檚 population by 2040. They recommended leveraging tornado-related school closures to spark neighborhood recovery. They also want to see city services reimagined, city police back under local control 鈥� and a task force to look at bringing the city and 51黑料 County closer together.

鈥�51黑料 City and County continuing to operate in silos has hampered the region鈥檚 economic competitiveness and ability to address shared challenges like public safety, population loss, and infrastructure investment,鈥� the group鈥檚 report to Spencer reads.

The group 鈥� a mix of corporate chiefs, college presidents, neighborhood and nonprofit leaders and the chief operating officer of 51黑料 County 鈥� said their aim was to provide suggestions for an administration that promised big things on the campaign trail, from improving services to turning around decades of population loss.

Many of the concepts in the report are familiar, and accomplishing the goals will be no picnic. The last city-county effort, for example, collapsed amid opposition on both sides of the boundary line. Push for investment in downtown will compete with calls to spend more in storm-battered north 51黑料. Cities across the country are struggling to hire more police. Fixing city services like trash pickup, pothole-filling and snow removal will rely on solving years-old staffing shortages.

And the report is light on specific instructions and dollar figures. But the group expressed hope the suggestions would 鈥渟pur strategic thinking, collaboration and transformative policy solutions to build a better 51黑料, together.鈥�

Spencer said she is still reviewing the finer points of the report but was impressed with its breadth. Her team is set to meet Thursday to discuss the findings.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to try and figure out which ones are feasible in the short-term and the long-term,鈥� she said.

The report was months in the making. Within days of Spencer鈥檚 victory over Tishaura O. Jones in April, aides announced plans for six advisory committees to advise her transition into office. Allies of Spencer started a new nonprofit, Change for STL, to hire consultants for the process.

Notable panelists included Steve Smith, the City Foundry developer, Dr. Alex Garza, who helped lead the region鈥檚 pandemic response, and Michael Wolff, former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. There were representatives from colleges and community development corporations, as well as Ameren, Purina and Commerce Bank.

They met over an eight-week period starting in May. The resulting report is divided into six sections, one from each committee: City Services, Neighborhood Transformation, Commercial Transformation, Public Safety & Justice, Inclusive Economy, and Education and Workforce Development. Those sections are further divided into short-term, middle-term and long-term goals, and then recommendations tailored to tornado recovery.

The short-term goals, to be accomplished within a year, include some things Spencer has already done, like clearing a backlog of complaints about potholes and creating an office to coordinate tornado relief efforts. They also call for the hiring of 200 police officers to fill empty positions and 30 new 911 dispatchers to shore up response times. The report also suggests importing a Kansas City program aimed at keeping youths out of trouble by paying them to participate in art therapy.

Moreover, the report says, downtown needs an immediate 鈥渁ctivation campaign鈥� to raise morale in a city center that has struggled to recover from the pandemic.

鈥淭here is a need for a bold 鈥榳ow鈥� moment 鈥� such as a high-profile event 鈥� paired with vibrant, creative placemaking efforts like art installations and lighting,鈥� the report reads.

The middle-term goals, to be done in one to three years, include streamlining city processes to make it easier to build affordable housing, starting programs to raise pay for childcare providers and reduce the costs for families, and increasing funding for home repairs to help people keep their properties up to code.

Long-term, the report says, the city needs to bore into some of its thorniest issues. It calls for shoring up salaries that aren鈥檛 competitive in the market 鈥� a factor long blamed for recruiting woes. It says the administration should work to retake control of its police department from the state-controlled board reimposed earlier this year.

In addition, the report suggests offering free or low-cost community college tuition and help buying a house to potential residents willing to live in the city for a certain number of years.

And it recommends the formation of a 鈥渞egional governance鈥� task force to take a fresh look at how the city and county can better cooperate, and to assess previous merger efforts 鈥渢o determine what can be learned for the future.鈥�

It also says the elected city sheriff鈥檚 position, currently occupied by the controversial Alfred Montgomery, should be made an appointed job.

The sections on tornado recovery often build on other suggestions, calling for increased funding for community organizations that provide assistance in hard-hit neighborhoods and for city backing of redevelopment efforts in north 51黑料 commercial corridors. The report also urges the administration to work with 51黑料 Public Schools as it weighs whether to close underused buildings, including several damaged by the tornado, and to make sure any money saved goes to improving education and ensure vacated buildings aren鈥檛 left to rot.

鈥淭he long-term vision is that no family feels the need to leave 51黑料 in search of better opportunities鈥攁nd that young people are empowered and excited to build their lives and careers in the city they call home,鈥� the report says.