Eight nonprofits have been waiting for more than a year for more than $8 million in total, money that would build an economic hub in North County, providing fresh vegetables to poor families and offering free legal aid to victims of domestic abuse, among other services.

Councilmembers on Tuesday accused Page’s administration of holding the money hostage.

“This is an embarrassment,” said Republican Councilman Mark Harder of Ballwin at a special committee meeting. “Cut the check and let’s move on.”

But Page doesn’t want to start paying for new programming until basic county needs are met, said Deputy Chief of Operations Kyle Klemp. The county will be responsible for monitoring the nonprofits’ expenditures, and it doesn’t have the staffing to do so. If it makes a mistake, the county will have to pay the money back to the federal government.

“We don’t want to introduce new services until the services that county residents expect are funded appropriately,” Klemp said.

Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, saw it differently.

“Put a different way, you’re going to continue to hold these folks hostage until we come up with some money,” Hancock said.

The county has been working on the pandemic aid since July 2021, when it landed a $193 million grant under the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Much of that went to paying for urgent public health expenses, filling a budget hole and demolishing the crumbling Jamestown Mall, among other projects. The council considered proposals from several nonprofits, and selected the finalists in fall 2022.

Nonprofits