ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County families will be watching a big County Council vote Tuesday evening that could change the way the county handles the pandemic.
Decisions like a mask mandate, business capacity and youth sports could be decided by the entire council instead of St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and county health department.
Three bills that would limit the power of the county executive will be up for vote.
Two bills presented by Republicans Tim Fitch and Mark Harder are similar. They would require a two-thirds vote by the council to approve any pandemic-related emergency order issued by Page or the health department that last more than 15 days and is more restrictive than an order issued by the state.
The other bill up for final vote tonight is sponsored by Republican Ernie Trakas. It’s similar to the other bills but it only requires a simple majority vote by the county council to approve an emergency order longer than 15 days.
Trakas took a different path from his Republican counterparts last month after the county counselor issued a memo saying she didn’t think two other bills dealing with the approval of emergency orders would be enforceable.
The county executive and health director’s powers are spelled out in the county charter.
