ST. LOUIS — During a Q&A session on Facebook Live Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Lyda Krewson gave an update on how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting the budget for the City of St. Louis.
She said the budget is expected to have a $30 million decrease in revenue for the current fiscal year, which lasts two more months, and then a $40 million loss for the next fiscal year.
"This budget is extremely sobering," Mayor Krewson said.
You can view the newly released budget materials for the City of St. Louis here. Krewson said there will be a virtual public hearing for the budget on Friday.
The mayor said the city is currently in a hiring freeze, except for essential services like police, fire and health. She said there are 6,607 employees listed on the city's budget, with 750 jobs vacant. The city is trying not to lay anyone off, if possible, and has put a pause on raises.
"Everything is on the table with a caveat that we're going to have enough employees to provide services for our residents," Krewson said.
St. Louis does have $42 million projected in the reserve fund at the end of the fiscal year that has been built up over the last few years, but Krewson said they are hoping not to "dip into it too far".
You can watch Krewson's entire Facebook live by clicking here.
The city is currently under a stay-at-home order without an end date and Krewson said she will reevaluate it on May 15 or earlier.
Earlier Wednesday, Krewson attended the opening of a new testing site in north St. Louis located at 4414 N. Florissant Avenue. People who want to be screened must call 314-833-2777 before going to the site.
