蜜芽传媒

Eight nonprofits have been waiting for more than a year for more than $8 million in total, money that would build an economic hub in North County, provide fresh vegetables to poor families and offer free legal aid to victims of domestic abuse, among other services.

Councilmembers on Tuesday accused Page鈥檚 administration of holding the money hostage.

鈥淭his is an embarrassment,鈥� said Republican Councilman Mark Harder of Ballwin at a special committee meeting. 鈥淐ut the check and let鈥檚 move on.鈥�

But Page doesn鈥檛 want to start paying for new programming until basic county needs are met, said Deputy Chief of Operations Kyle Klemp. The county will be responsible for monitoring the nonprofits鈥� expenditures, and it doesn鈥檛 have the staffing to do so. If it makes mistakes, the county will have to pay the money back to the federal government.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to introduce new services until the services that county residents expect are funded appropriately,鈥� Klemp said.

Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, saw it differently.

鈥淧ut a different way, you鈥檙e going to continue to hold these folks hostage until we come up with some money,鈥� Hancock said.

The county has been working on the pandemic aid since July 2021, when it landed a $193 million grant under the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Much of that went to paying for urgent public health expenses, filling a budget hole and demolishing the crumbing Jamestown Mall, among other projects. The council considered proposals from several nonprofits, and picked the finalists in fall 2022.

Nonprofits worked for months with the county and its compliance firm, global consulting company Deloitte. Now, they said they鈥檝e done everything they鈥檙e required to do.

鈥淲e鈥檝e already been vetted,鈥� said Beverly Jenkins, CEO of Refuge and Restoration, a nonprofit that was awarded $500,000 to support its new economic hub in Dellwood, R&R Marketplace.

The nonprofit worked with Deloitte for 10 months to meet all of the grant鈥檚 requirements, Jenkins said, and believed it had gone through all the necessary 鈥渃hecks and balances.鈥� It already spent the money it expected to receive, and now the nonprofit plans to fundraise to cover its expenses as it waits on the county.

鈥淲e鈥檙e dealing with the the needs of a community that has already suffered enough,鈥� Jenkins said on Tuesday.

Janett Lewis, founder and director of Rustic Roots Sanctuary, said the Page administration told her in September the community farm could begin filing for reimbursement soon. But in a November meeting with Page鈥檚 office, Lewis learned the funding was on hold pending budget negotiations.

Klemp, the operations deputy, said the council鈥檚 decision to cut the budget changed things.

鈥淲e would never advise a subrecipient to take that risk on of making purchases without purchase agreements,鈥� he said.

At least one nonprofit didn鈥檛 鈥� 蜜芽传媒 Survivors Legal Support wanted to use $25,000 to hire a part-time attorney to provide free legal support to survivors of domestic abuse. But they couldn鈥檛 count on the funds, said Tali Katz, director of legal advocacy.

鈥淲e weren鈥檛 able to rely on those funds, so we just never filled the position,鈥� Katz said.

Instead, the nonprofit relies on all volunteer attorneys.

Before the county releases funds to the nonprofits, the Page administration wants the council to reverse $12 million of the $14 million in budget cuts it approved last year to offset a deficit.

But some councilmembers weren鈥檛 convinced county staff can鈥檛 handle monitoring the nonprofits. Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, said the council made cuts based on the county鈥檚 actual spending in 2022. It shouldn鈥檛 have a tangible impact on services, he said Tuesday.

The budget was built to support existing services, not new ones, Klemp responded.

Hancock asked if the county could pay the county鈥檚 compliance firm to monitor the nonprofits. That would be costly, Klemp said. Deloitte bills at $166 per hour, and the county has already paid the firm $2.3 million for its work on the pandemic aid.

鈥淲e want to use them to do something they鈥檙e good at, not for what we鈥檙e good at,鈥� Klemp said.

But the county could use pandemic funding to pay Deloitte, and it would likely be cheaper than the $12 million the County Executive seeks, Hancock said.

Council Chair Shalonda Webb of unincorporated North County had suggested using NFL Rams settlement money to restore the cuts.

But Tuesday, she called Page鈥檚 explanation for withholding the money 鈥渄isingenuous,鈥� and said the Rams cash was off the table.

鈥淭here is no way that I鈥檓 going to do that,鈥� Webb said.