St. Louis police board wants the city to spend $68M more on the department by June 30 14%
By Rachel Lippmann0%
5/11/2026, 11:36:02 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 6 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Optimism Bias, and Framing Effect, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 13.5% saturation with 54 hits. Analysis detected 211 faulty-reasoning hits from 400 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.2% and a BS Rank of 14% (18,967 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.70% of the article peer group.
The state-appointed board that oversees the St.
Louis Metropolitan Police Department wants to force the City of St.
Louis to spend an additional $68 million on the department in the next seven weeks.
The Board of Police Commissioners filed a suit Monday asking a judge to rule that the city has failed to meet its minimum funding requirements for fiscal 2026, which wraps up in June.
“This action is about seeking answers and ensuring everyone has a clear understanding moving forward to ensure a prosperous and safer St.
Louis,” Board of Police Commissioners President Chris Saracino said in a statement.
“The Board has a responsibility to ensure Missouri law is interpreted correctly and that public safety funding decisions are made with transparency and certainty.
Pursuing this process through the courts will help provide that guidance so all parties can move forward accordingly.”
The suit argues that the city improperly excluded Rams settlement and reserve funds from its general revenue calculation, in violation of a 1955 state Supreme Court ruling that defined general revenue as “all current income of the city, however derived, which is subject to appropriation for general public uses, as distinguished from special uses.”
Including that additional $404.3 million, the suit argues, boosts total required spending on the SLMPD in the 2026 budget to $257 million.
The city allocated about $189 million, a difference of $68 million.
The law re-implementing state control took effect in March 2025 and required the city to allocate at least 22% of its general revenue toward policing in the 2025 calendar year, and at least 23% in the 2026 calendar year.
The city’s budgets go from July 1 through June 30.
Any ruling will also affect the fiscal 2027 budget, which is currently up for debate at the Board of Aldermen.
The city has allocated about $220 million to the department, well below its requested $250 million.
Spokespeople for Mayor Cara Spencer, Board President Megan Green and Comptroller Donna Baringer, who are all named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
All 14 aldermen are also sued in their official capacities.
Monday’s filing is the latest in the legal fight over state control.
A judge in Cole County heard arguments in two cases last week.
Spencer has also filed her own suit.
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