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Today, my staff and I testified before the Streets, Traffic and Refuse Committee regarding the FY19 Parking Division Budget. It is no secret that Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, who is chairman of this committee, has threatened to make drastic changes to our budget. Today, he kept his promise and attempted to cut essential members of my staff, playing petty politics with people’s livelihoods. Earlier this year, I met with Mayor Krewson and offered to transfer $6 million from the Treasurer’s Office reserves to the City of St. Louis reserves in order to help improve the long-term financial health of the City. I [...]

Treasurer Jones, in her capacity as Parking Supervisor of the City of St. Louis, temporarily suspended Parking Commission meetings in Fall 2017. This step was taken after Alderman Jeffrey Boyd--with the support of the Mayor’s office--filed a Motion to Intervene to serve as a plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenges the legality of the state statutes governing the Parking Division. Since the order--and due to the fact that Alderman Boyd and a representative of the Mayor’s office are members of the Parking Commission--the Parking Commission under Treasurer Jones’ leadership has suspended all meetings in order to allow the legal process to [...]

There will be no parking meter enforcement on Friday, November 10 or Saturday, November 11 due to the Veterans Day holiday. Regular parking meter enforcement will resume at 8am on Monday, November 13. For those attending the Veterans Day parade and 5k on November 11 in downtown St. Louis, there are several street closures. The following parking restrictions and road closures will impact Downtown St. Louis for the Veteren's Day Parade and 5k Race on November 11, 2017: Notice: Please view the official race website [www.fleetfeetstlouis.com] [www.fleetfeetstlouis.com]for complete details about the 5k event. Veterans Day 5K Run Start Times Run closures [...]

Free Classes to Help Combat Equifax Data Breach The fallout from the Equifax data breach is on everyone’s minds these days, so the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) is offering some free classes to help people get their credit back on track. One class is on identity theft. Participants will learn how to prevent fraud, protect their personal information online, and learn what to do if they were impacted by the Equifax data breach. The identity theft classes are offered at the following times and locations: • October 5: 12:30 p.m. at the Office of Financial Empowerment (1200 Market Street, Room [...]

One of the fastest ways to build personal wealth is through home ownership. The City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office of Financial Empowerment is partnering with Stifel Bank to help City employees become home owners. Work & Live St. Louis is an affordable home loan and home loan refinance program for municipal employees of the City of St. Louis. The following employees are eligible for the mortgage program: City of St. Louis, St. Louis Public Schools, St. Louis Public Library, and Lambert International Airport. The loan can be used to purchase single family homes; two to four family homes; and condos [...]

There have been many conversations recently about the city’s financial difficulties, particularly around raising taxes to fund the police department. That conversation has turned to the Treasurer’s Office and using Parking Division reserve funds to help the city. As of the 2016 Audited Financials, the Parking Division had approximately $20 million in unrestricted reserves. Like most companies, the Treasurer’s Office uses this reserve fund to insure its outstanding debt. The Parking Division’s reserve fund insures approximately $67 million of outstanding debt that was accrued for building parking garages and upgrading the parking meter system. Having a healthy reserve fund allows the [...]

The City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office will host its Fourth Annual Financial Empowerment Fair at St Louis Community College at Forest Park on Saturday, April 1, from 9am to 3pm. Several banks, credit unions and non-profit agencies will be on hand to provide important information about financial opportunities such as bank accounts, credit counseling, money management, savings, and investing. “The goal of the fair is to educate and empower the citizens of our region to make better choices with their money and to avoid using predatory financial services,” said Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones. “We are excited about providing this opportunity [...]

Common Cents Lab Will Partner with College Kids to Help Grow the Program A team from the Common Cents Lab at Duke University will be at the Office of Financial Empowerment next week (February 6 and 7) to begin a partnership with the Treasurer’s Office College Kids Children’s Savings Account Program. Common Cents is a financial research lab that helps low-to-moderate income households improve their financial well-being. Common Cents uses research to recommend changes in behavior that lead to positive financial outcomes. Common Cents will help the Treasurer’s Office determine ways to get College Kids participants increase their savings. The Common [...]

Savings to Occur Over 15 Year Period The City of St. Louis Treasurer's Office will save $4.6 million after refinancing outstanding parking debt. The City of St. Louis has $48.8 million in outstanding parking debt, and this refinancing will save $4.6 million over the course of 15 years. Previously, bonds were issued to build city-owned parking facilities in Downtown and the Central West End to help encourage development. The refinancing process began in November 2014 when the Treasurer's Office issued a competitive request for qualifications ("RFQ") for a pool of underwriters. This RFQ evaluated costs, experience, and presence in St. [...]

Parking Commission approves $2 million funding for study Today, the Parking Commission of the City of St. Louis approved funding $2 million for the North-South Metrolink extension study. The funds for the study come from parking revenue. City Code calls for the Treasurer's Office to conduct periodic studies on parking, which take certain factors into account, including access to public transportation. We funded the study because we are interested in ensuring future parking needs are coordinated with public transit development. The North-South Metrolink extension is one of the most important projects needed in our region, and Treasurer Jones is committed [...]