St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announces formation of Long-Term Revenue Advisory Council

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announced Monday she is forming a 12-person Long-Term Revenue Advisory Council, which will be charged with explore and recommend strategies for stability, growth, and sustainability of the City of St. Louis's revenue.

"When I talk to City residents, they consistently stress the importance of funding for vital municipal services like public safety, infrastructure, support for our youth, attractive public spaces, refuse and recycling services, and more," said Mayor Jones in a press conference. "The Long-Term Revenue Advisory Council will be made up of individuals who understand the importance of this funding, from government, the private sector, and the community, and I’m excited to see their recommendations."

The 12-member Council will include an individual who represents the Collector of Revenue office, City of St. Louis Budget Division, City Treasurer Office, and the Board of Aldermen.

The city says council will look the current sources of revenue for the city and explore opportunities for stabilization, diversification, and growth. The Council will meet monthly and will present a report to Mayor Jones that summarizes the issues they’ve studied and recommendations for the long-term sustainability of our city’s revenue within six months.

The announcement comes days after a settlement was reached between non-city residents who sued the City for having to pay the earnings tax when they were working remotely during the pandemic.

Jones says the formation of the committee was and idea she had been looking at for a while, and the earnings tax lawsuit did not prompt the announcement.

"We’re going to look at all of our revenue sources not just the earnings tax," said Jones. "We’ll have a report in six months telling us about the long term sustainability of our city revenue sources."