Aldermen Move to Subpoena Police Board

St. Louis aldermen voted on May 18 to subpoena the state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners after the board declined to appear before a budget hearing on its proposed fiscal 2027 spending plan. The Board of Aldermen’s Budget and Public Employees Committee approved the move 4-0, with one member, Matt Devoti, voting present, according to local reports. The subpoena directs the police board to appear on May 27 and present its budget. The step adds another formal clash to a broader fight between City Hall and the police board over spending, authority and Missouri’s return to state control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. ### Why did aldermen move to subpoena the police board? The immediate trigger was the police board’s refusal to attend a Budget and Public Employees Committee hearing after aldermen asked it to present its fiscal 2027 budget. Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, who chairs the committee, said the subpoena came after repeated requests for the board to participate in the city’s budget process. (ksdk.com) Aldridge told St. Louis Magazine before the vote that “the goal is not to be confrontational at all” and that the point was to have the board present its FY27 budget. He also said, “I don’t think they get a pass to not come.” KSDK, citing the St. Louis Business Journal, reported Aldridge said before Monday’s vote that the subpoena was “kind of the last step that we wanted to go.” (ksdk.com) ### What exactly did the committee approve on May 18? The May 18 committee vote directed issuance of a subpoena requiring the Board of Police Commissioners to appear before aldermen on May 27 to present its spending plan. KSDK reported the vote was 4-0, with Devoti voting present. (stlmag.com) The Board of Aldermen’s committee system has subpoena power under the city charter, according to the city’s website. The Budget and Public Employees Committee is the panel that handles municipal finance matters, including the city budget and appropriations. ### Why did the police board say it would not appear? (ksdk.com) In late April, Commissioner Sonya Jenkins-Gray, identified by St. Louis Magazine as the board’s government liaison, said the police would not appear before the committee on the advice of legal counsel. She cited active litigation brought by the city against the police board over its budget, according to the magazine’s report. (stlouis-mo.gov) That litigation is part of a wider budget standoff. St. Louis Magazine reported that Mayor Cara Spencer sued the board in early April, while the police board filed its own suit the following week seeking a court order requiring the city to spend $67.5 million more on police before June 30. ### How far apart are City Hall and the police board on the budget? (stlmag.com) The budget gap runs into the tens of millions of dollars. St. Louis Magazine reported the police board wants between $250 million and $270 million for next year, while Spencer has said state law points to a city allocation of about $219 million. The mayor’s office said in a February 26 notice on the city website that the police board’s certified budget would push the police department’s budget to more than $250 million. (stlmag.com) Earlier reporting by St. Louis Magazine said the difference between the two sides had reached as much as $72 million. ### What does this say about control of the police department? (stlmag.com) Missouri’s 2025 takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is the backdrop for the dispute. KSDK described the board as state-appointed and said the subpoena fight is the latest escalation between city officials and the state-controlled board since that takeover. (stlouis-mo.gov) The city’s own lawsuit also seeks to dissolve the state-appointed board, according to St. Louis Magazine. That means the budget hearing fight is unfolding alongside a court challenge to the current governing structure for the department. ### What happens next, and when? The next scheduled step is a May 27 Budget and Public Employees Committee meeting at 9:30 a.m., listed on the Board of Aldermen calendar. (ksdk.com) The subpoena approved on May 18 requires the Board of Police Commissioners to appear at that hearing and present its spending plan. (stlmag.com) The Board of Aldermen calendar also listed additional budget committee meetings on May 19 and May 20, followed by a full board meeting on May 21. The city’s public meeting page says committee meetings are held at City Hall and meeting documents are posted through the board’s portal. (stlouis-mo.gov)