The Missouri state auditor released a report Wednesday stating St. Louis County spent 33% of its share of the Rams settlement funds without an adequate process to evaluate the spending of the funds, giving the county a “fair” rating.
St. Louis County received a total of $159 million in settlement money from the lawsuit against Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke after the team left St. Louis in 2016. In total, the area received $519 million from the settlement after legal fees.
Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick's office found the St. Louis County Council hasn’t established a formal criteria for deciding which projects will receive settlement funding and hasn’t established any potential restrictions on settlement fund use.
“Instead, the council has decided on a case-by-case basis to use settlement funds for various purposes,” the audit read. “In contrast to the county, the City of St. Louis has not allocated any of its settlement funds.”
A request for comment from the St. Louis County Council on the audit’s release was not immediately returned.
To date, the county council has approved $56.2 million in spending on five projects, including:
- $40 million in street repair and replacement and sidewalk and curb maintenance.
- $9.9 million to maintain current cybersecurity protections and support addressing vulnerabilities associated with the Human Resources Information System.
- $5.2 million toward comprehensive facility maintenance and repair services for 49 county facilities over a period of two years.
- $765,000 to help identify how the county can reduce greenhouse gas emission in the county and identify vulnerabilities across the area. Included in this amount is $15,000 for support of the salary and benefits for one planning manager.
- $340,000 for a small area study of the greater Spanish Lake area for potential development.
The auditor’s office described the spending on infrastructure improvements as “appropriate use of the one-time funds," the report stated the council needs to go through a formal process to establish the most effective and strategic use of the money.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page wrote a letter pushing back against the auditor’s critique, noting the county held four town halls in 2023 with the goal of engaging the public in the budgeting process.
“The community told us they care about public safety, public health, pool inspections, mosquito spraying, and our parks,” Page wrote. “They care about basic services that keep their families healthy and safe.”
The audit also found the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority that oversees the Dome at America’s Center failed to adequately plan for future maintenance obligations for the building.
The Dome’s maintenance needs, according to the audit, exceed the approximately $67 million in funds available to the authority.
A request for comment from RSA Executive Director Marty Finn was not immediately returned.
According to a facility condition assessment, the Dome will require $155 million in repairs over the next 10 years, but as of December 2023, the RSA’s fund balance was approximately $87 million, including $70 million in Rams settlement funds.
The audit found events held at the RSA currently do not contribute to preserving the Dome, and the authority has not approached the city or county for additional funding.
The authority received annual preservation payments of $4 million from the State of Missouri, St. Louis and St. Louis County until 2024, when the deal struck in 1994 expired.
