ST. LOUIS 鈥 The mayor鈥檚 office said this week it is bracing for cuts to federal grants under the Trump administration, and urged residents to call their representatives.
Casey Millburg, policy director for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, said at a virtual meeting of the city鈥檚 top elected officials on Wednesday that if Washington meets , more than $160 million in grants 鈥 equal to 12% of the city鈥檚 annual budget 鈥 could be at risk.
鈥淓verything鈥檚 going to take a hit,鈥 Millburg said.
It was not clear what the exact annual cost would be, since grant amounts can change from year to year.
But Millburg said the health department would likely be among the hardest hit. It relies on federal dollars to pay for a long list of initiatives, including child care facility inspections, drug overdose prevention efforts, , and HIV surveillance.
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Money used to build affordable housing, train workers and pay for technology and overtime in the police department is also at risk.
Millburg said the city could also see indirect effects: Cuts to federal research grants could hurt local universities, which are some of the city鈥檚 largest employers. Tariffs on foreign lumber and steel could hamper local manufacturing. Planned deportations of unauthorized immigrants would remove them as workers and customers from the local economy.
Officials took no immediate action Wednesday, but Aldermanic President Megan Green said the city may soon need to get creative to keep services going.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be some, I think, compounding challenges for us,鈥 Green said.
Jones urged people watching the meeting to contact their representatives in Washington, and said she and others would be phone numbers for senators and representatives on social media.
鈥淚 hope we have made it very clear that the threats coming from the Trump administration are real,鈥 Jones said.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of thousands of images each year. Take a look at some from from just one week. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
