Results for St. Louis: 50 Key Accomplishments From the First Year of the Spencer Administration

Overview

St. Louisans have endured one of the most defining years of our city's history, marked by the devastation of the nation’s most destructive tornado in 14 years, which tore through North and West St. Louis on May 16, 2025. Thousands of residents face drastically changed lives and futures, with recovery still far off for many.  While no city is equipped for a disaster response of this scale – making St. Louis a testing ground for community-led recovery without primary federal management – City departments, employees, and the newly established Recovery Office have stepped up in incredible ways alongside the community on a response and recovery that will span years, if not decades.

At the same time, City departments, elected officials, and boards and commissions have made real progress on the initial priorities of the Spencer administration. Key city services, such as trash pickup and snow removal, have markedly improved. Getting a building permit is more convenient than ever, as applications have moved online. Key performance indicators are posted publicly on CityStat, increasing transparency and accountability. And while the City does not currently control its own police department, the City has improved public safety in multiple ways, most notably by creating Code Blue to increase winter support for our unhoused neighbors to an unprecedented level.

St. Louisans deserve a city that works for them, and each of these 50 key results from the first year of the Spencer administration signifies another step toward delivering the essential services and quality of life they expect from a city that works effectively on their behalf.

Tornado Recovery

1. Within hours of the May 16 tornado, the City declared a state of emergency and coordinated the City’s initial public safety emergency response alongside the Missouri State Emergency Agency (SEMA), deploying more than 250 fire, EMS, and search and rescue personnel.
2. Restored right-of-way access across the impacted neighborhoods within days and worked with regional government and utility partners to reestablish power, water, downed light poles, and traffic signals.
3. Completed more than 7,000 structural safety inspections in partnership with the Missouri SAVE Coalition.
4. Coordinated incoming national disaster response resources to support residents and community nonprofits, including coordinating delivery of more than 350,000 meals through regional and national partners, supporting more than 14,700 shelter and hotel nights in partnership with the Red Cross and Urban League with financial support from the City and FEMA, establishing a Disaster Assistance Center serving more than 3,000 households and 8,500 individuals, and creating three local Disaster Recovery Centers with FEMA and SBA for individualized support.
5. Coordinated with state and federal partners, including the governor and congressional delegation, to secure expedited emergency authorities, a federal major disaster declaration on June 9 that secured $251 million in federal resources ($45 million in FEMA Individual Assistance, estimated up to $50 million in FEMA Public Assistance and supporting long term recovery efforts, up to $156 million in FEMA Private Property Debris Removal Project), and $8 million in SBA loans.
6. Secured $100 million in state disaster relief with $86 million more pending the governor’s signature, $33+ million of Rams settlement funding, $9+ million of Operating Reserve funds, $3+ million of interest on ARPA funds, and re-programmed more than $20 million of previously received ARPA and CDBG funds.
7. Cleared 6.75 million cubic feet of debris, more than doubling response capacity through coordination of 35+ contractor crews and National Guard support.
8. Removed 4,891 hazardous trees to stabilize neighborhoods and prevent further damage.
9. Provided winter support, including emergency hotel stays, rental assistance, and utility assistance, to 900 families impacted by the tornado.
10. Removed red tape and other barriers to repairing and rebuilding in the tornado zone through Executive Order 90.

High-Quality City Services

11. Filled 1,013 potholes within the first 30 days, reducing the backlog by 87%.
12. Increased the number of potholes filled on time, from 17% between April 2024 and March 2025 to 46% from April 2025 to March 2026.
13. Launched the 311 phone number to make it easier for residents to report issues to the Citizens’ Service Bureau.
14. Replaced a failing alley recycling system (50%+ contamination rejection) with a strategic drop-off model, improving recycling rates from 37% to 78% and increasing total tonnage recycled while generating $450,000 in savings over five months.
15. Established a Recycling Task Force to drive long-term system redesign.
16. Initiated refuse route digitization and data collection technology to optimize future collection efficiency.
17. Increased refuse route completion rates from 50-65% in early 2025 to over 90% in late 2025 without additional cost, replacing overtime with a performance-based incentive system.
18. Developed and executed the City’s first National Incident Management System-compliant snow response plan and unified command structure.
19. Met new goal to plow 100% of snow routes within 72 hours of snowfall ending, accomplished by doubling on-call snow response pay rates, securing emergency contractor capacity to expand surge response, deploying quality assurance monitoring teams to identify and correct missed routes, and activating GPS tracking across the snow fleet.
20. In addition to the regular snow routes, also plowed residential streets after the January 2026 snowstorm to ensure residents had safe access to main roads.
21. Completed major corridor repaving and traffic calming projects with bike lanes and/or multimodal safety improvements, including on Kingshighway, Jefferson, Union, Broadway, Convention Plaza, Union, Tower Grove and Hodiamont.
22. Increased the percentage of hazardous trees removed within the 30 days of validated requests, despite increased demand after the tornado.
23. Completed compensation overhaul for 4,200 City employees, ready to be enacted in fiscal year 2027, aligning minimum salaries within 5% of the market, and ensuring 3% raises for all classified service employees, improving the City’s ability to attract and retain talent and deliver city services.

Transparency & Good Governance

24. Launched a citywide online building permitting platform in February 2026, making it easier and quicker to apply for and obtain a building permit, without having to visit City Hall.
25. Launched public CityStat, sharing data on city service performance with the public and instituting accountability structures.
26. Reinstated Civilian Oversight Board access to the City Justice Center, restoring transparency.
27. Called for an external investigation to ensure clarity and transparency on what caused the failure to activate the City’s outdoor warning sirens before the May 16 tornado, as well as any other shortcomings in the City’s immediate response, and shared the report in its entirety with the public.
28. Enabled real-time case tracking for residents interacting with city services.
29. Began addressing $12.5M in delinquent water accounts by lifting the COVID-era shut-off moratorium, while launching generous repayment plans with the collector of revenue to give low-income residents a path to repayment while keeping their water on.
30. Increased procurement threshold from $500 to $2,500, in coordination with Alderwoman Sonnier, significantly reducing administrative delays.
31. Reduced hiring timelines by 59%, improving workforce responsiveness, with Q1 of 2026 achieving 90% of offers accepted within 30 days of application.
32. Implemented Family & Medical Leave reforms, driving substantial reductions in leave and overtime usage across departments, increasing department capacity.

Inclusive Growth & Economic Transformation

33. Issued $1.3B in building permits (up from $716M the previous year).
34. Funded 465 affordable housing units that are completed or underway ($14.3M investment).
35. Updated several regulations that previously contributed to housing scarcity, including changing the occupancy code to support larger families citywide, decreasing minimum lot sizes, and allowing accessible dwelling units by right, in partnership with the Planning Commission and the Board of Aldermen.
36. Expanded multilingual services across 10 languages and 60+ nationalities.
37. The Planning Commission adopted the City’s first Transportation & Mobility Plan since 1948.
38. Significantly strengthened the required conditions and enforceability for a proposed data center at the old Famous-Barr warehouse, mitigating concerns about noise, walkability, sustainability and the use of power and water, while ensuring significant community benefits, including investment in infrastructure and an estimated $432.3 million in tax revenue over 10 years for the City, the St. Louis Public Schools, and other entities including libraries, the Zoo Museum District and the Metropolitan Sewer District.
39. Deployed American Rescue Plan Act funding that was not on target to be spent by the federal deadline in underinvested communities, tornado recovery, and water infrastructure.
40. Advanced neighborhood planning initiatives across multiple areas, particularly in North St. Louis.
41. Launched an overhaul to the City’s Zoning Code for the first time since the 1950s, with the goal of creating a clearer and more consistent code that is aligned with community priorities and makes it easier to build new housing within the city.
42. Moved the city closer to securing massive investment in public transit by shifting the Green Line from a prohibitively expensive light rail that would serve only 10 stations in less than six miles, to bus rapid transit, which has a realistic price tag and will be able to serve many more people on a longer route, going farther north and south and into Downtown.

Public Safety & Justice

43. Established a citywide unified emergency command structure via Executive Order 93, improving coordination across agencies during severe weather events, including snowstorms and tornadoes.
44. Restored and upgraded tornado sirens while automating siren activation to prevent human error.
45. Delivered 20,400 shelter bed nights during Code Blue, funded 20 shelter providers, and transported 1,100+ total riders to shelter (500 unique riders).
46. Installed several pedestrian safety improvements on Chippewa by Ted Drewes, including barriers separating pedestrians from vehicular traffic, bump-outs, and a signalized midblock crosswalk.
47. Hired new City Justice Center corrections leadership and added 40 officers, stabilizing staffing.
48. Fixed antiquated and single-point-failure custody system between Juvenile Courts, Sheriff’s Office, and Corrections with a modernized process.
49. Launched City Justice Center Corrections’ Honor Dorm program to incentivize rehabilitation.
50. Implemented in-house mental health services at City Justice Center, reducing wait times from 14 months to immediate access.