ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — County Executive Sam Page will announce a small business grant program during his Friday morning COVID-19 briefing.
A press release from his office said the program will use part of the $173 million of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding awarded to the county.
An emergency ordinance passed by the St. Louis County Council Tuesday means County Executive Sam Page will not need approval from the council to spend money given to the county as part of the CARES Act.
The ordinance said all money given to the county as part of the CARES Act will be put into a special revenue fund. Page would then be able to administer the funds without seeking further approval from the council.
Specifics about the plan have not been made available, but a source told 5 On Your Side's Casey Nolen that the program would use 10% of the county's CARES Act funds.
Page, a Democrat, has not announced when his stay-at-home order would be lifted and said he would revisit the issue in mid-May. On Thursday, the three Republican members of the St. Louis County Council released a proposal to reopen businesses in the county.
Council members Tim Fitch, Ernie Trakas and Mark Harder introduced the details of their plan during a press conference at noon Thursday. They said the plan would start reopening businesses on May 4, the same day the Missouri stay-at-home order expires. And businesses would be fully open by the week of June 22.
St. Louis County has the most COVID-19 cases, 3,136, and deaths, 162.