St. Louis city officials are planning to fight back if the Missouri legislature passes a plan that would put the city police back under state control.
Mayor Tishaura Jones has been vocal about her opposition to the plan, and now President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green is sharing her perspective, too. If the state is going to take over the department, she said, they'd better be prepared to fund it.
"State governments cannot impose unfunded mandates on local governments," Green said. "And if we no longer have control over our police department and can no longer govern it, then it would make sense that we no longer have to pay for it."
Green, the mayor and the comptroller all sit on the three-member city budget board, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, through which all city spending must pass. It would only take two of them to block a local funding bill for the police.
If the state did take over local police, Green said, it would be liable to pay the annual $230 million of the department's budget. However, she said, they haven't made a decision yet to take that route. They would first consult with their legal counsel.
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