A breath of fresh air in local government
When 40 St. Louisans show up for their researched vision of the city
At last week's public budget hearing, forty St. Louis citizens made their cases for changing how we spend our city's money. Civic action and research came together.
Statistics featured heavily in people’s comments. They showed the scale and pervasiveness of the systems that have since the beginning and for far too long plagued Black people in St. Louis specifically, and the United States as a whole. Citizens explained about how more than 30% of the St. Louis budget goes to policing and how, despite this spending, policing fails at reducing crime and creating safety.
Citizens shared stories, too. They described how their neighborhoods' development had been neglected while others flourished; one young person described how she and her loved ones had been harassed by the police while waiting for the bus. Each story we heard added to the picture of how policing hurts our community.
Statistics and stories alike were followed by suggestions for how we could instead invest money into programs that have been proven to work. People imagined food security, compassionate mental health services, thriving neighborhoods, and more. They imagined programs that were community-focused and trauma informed, and would make our city better for all of us.
For the entirety of the call, Mayor Jones, Comptroller Green, and the President of the Board of Aldermen Reed shared their cameras, and we could easily follow their reactions to the testimony. They gave small nods and eyebrow twitches in response to their constituents' perspectives.
While many people—social workers, community organizers, and an environmental policy specialist—had professional experience informing their individual statements, others were concerned citizens sharing their values and personal experience. Our local government officials seemed to take each person as seriously as the last, whatever their background.
Comptroller Green and President Reed concluded the hearing nearly effervescently, each commenting on how it had had the most civic engagement by far in each of their tenures. Not only did Comptroller Green praise the enthusiasm of the attendees, but she even verbally committed to reduce the funding for vacant police positions and to increase the funding for health and human services. These were changes that had just been called for by so many commenters—as well as Mayor Jones's campaign—and it was remarkable to hear that the changes may indeed happen.
The meeting was an early step in what is needed to transform St. Louis into a city that serves all of its citizens. I felt inspired to witness it.
Each of the commenters had taken the time to consider their experiences and to research the experiences of their fellow St. Louisans and Americans. Each citizen took the information that they found most compelling, and decided how to present it to their government. And each person present—including the Mayor, Comptroller, and President—listened carefully to their peers, and did what they thought was best.
Mentioned in this issue: St. Louis City Board of Estimate and Apportionment meeting, April 23, 2021.
Many of the people who attended the meeting, including myself, were organized by Defund. Re-envision. Transform, a coalition of St. Louis activism groups. If you’re interested in learning more and taking action where you live, you can find helpful organizations and resources at DefundPolice.org.