St. Louis County Council

The County Council on Tuesday also approved a ballot measure requiring confirmation of department heads. And it chose a new operator of the county’s animal shelter.

Councilmembers are allocating federal American Rescue Plan funds to help beef up staff in St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s office and to tear down the abandoned north county shopping center.

Community leaders say a new north county recreation center will be a boon to the area.

St. Louis County is also considering how to spend federal coronavirus relief money. County Executive Sam Page outlined some proposed plans Monday.

The order from County Executive Sam Page extends existing programs at the health department and expands patient counseling and anti-bias and anti-racism training, as well as clinical training around contraception.

The county council voted 4-3 along party lines to approve the mask requirement that takes effect Wednesday.

The county council could still vote on a mask mandate, but it could take several weeks to go through the meeting process.

Some Democrats believe it's a roundabout way for Republicans to be more competitive in a county where they've fallen out of favor.

After months of arguing about whether St. Louis County Executive Sam Page can work part time as an anesthesiologist, council members put the issue on the ballot.

The council also Tuesday continued to question funding for the downtown St. Louis convention center.