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New Fiscal Year & Annual Dues
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Looking Back & Looking Ahead
The League's 2025-2026 fiscal year officially closed on June 30th. We would like to thank all of our members for making this year a success. The past year has seen many momentous occasions - hiring a new staff member (Nathan Hoenig), advocating for the St. Louis County Use Tax (Prop U), discussing a potential Board of Freeholders, and passing beneficial legislation (SB 888 - juvenile crime, SB 916 - sovereign immunity, SB 973 - land banks, HB 1871 candidate filing deadlines, HB 2641 - hemp regulations, HB 3231 - downtown revitalization incentives). Over the next year, we expect more discussion on income tax reform and St. Louis City re-entering the county.
Municipal Members
Invoices for annual dues have been sent to all city clerks. Annual dues are based on population categories set by the membership, and the current rate was last set in 2014. Payment may be made online or via check. For those paying via ACH, our bank account information has changed.
Affiliate Members
We are launching a new affiliate membership program and transitioning renewals to follow the calendar year, as requested by our affiliate members. The new program offers five sponsorship levels. You will be receiving additional information with your renewal notice within the next week.
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Municipal League's Upcoming Events
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Mark your calendars for all of our upcoming events! Additional details will be provided as we approach each event. Check our events calendar on our website to see League meetings, webinar dates, plus statutory deadlines. Municipal Members and Affiliate Members are encouraged to attend all of our upcoming events!
July 2026
Early July - League staff delivers directories to city halls & dues notices are sent
August 2026
27th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar - Election Procedure
September 2026
24th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon - Emergency Management
24th - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ Ballwin Golf Course Event Center
October 2026
1st - Thursday, Municipal League Golf Tournament, 8am @ Florissant Golf Club
1st - Thursday, Colin Kinkade's birthday
22nd - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon - Municipal Budgets 101
22nd - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ Dellwood Recreation Center
November 2026
19th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon - Special Interest Topic
December 2026
10th - Thursday, Municipal League Holiday Open House & Affiliate Exhibit Hall @ Maryland Heights Community Center
20th - Sunday, Pat Kelly's birthday
January 2027
28th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon
28th - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ TBD
February 2027
25th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon
25th - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ TBD
March 2027
25th - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon
25th - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ TBD
April 2027
22nd - Thursday, Training Academy Webinar, noon
22nd - Thursday, Municipal League Membership Meeting, 6:30pm @ TBD
29th - Thursday, Municipal League Newly Elected Officials Training Seminar, 4:00pm @ Maryland Heights Community Center
May 2027
4th - Tuesday, Nathan Hoenig's birthday
27th - Thursday, Municipal League Annual Installation Dinner & Awards Ceremony
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St. Louis Board of Aldermen Passes
$255M Rams Settlement Spending Plan
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The St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved a $255 million plan to spend the city's remaining Rams settlement money. Board Bill 22 allocates the funds to three major areas: tornado recovery/north St. Louis redevelopment ($120 million), capital/water infrastructure ($70 million), and downtown neighborhood plan implementation ($55 million).
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Mayor Spencer Floats City of St. Louis
Re-Entering the County
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In a recent interview with St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer encouraged the beginning of constructive dialogue on restructuring the City of St. Louis' relationship with the region to understand what the community can support. Although she has not endorsed any particular model, the city re-entering the county or having an overlay district were mentioned as potential options.
Various topics were discussed, including leveraging the city's urban core as a centralizing force for the region, consolidating the City of St. Louis' county-level functions as a cost-savings measure, and regionalizing our decision-making process (especially in terms of emergency response). She criticized Better Together and emphasized that any structural changes would require support from both the community at-large and the business community.
You can hear the full interview HERE.
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Municipalities Consider Regional Fire Department
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St. Louis County is currently served by twenty four fire protection districts and nineteen municipal fire departments. Of those nineteen, seven municipalities (Clayton, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights, Shrewsbury, University City, and Webster Groves) have agreed to fund a feasibility study on potentially consolidating their municipal fire departments into one regional fire department that would serve over 100,000 residents.
This would be the first regional fire department in Missouri controlled by multiple municipalities. The study will review factors such as operating costs, response times, and oversight structures. However, concerns remain over the cost of the study and losing direct control over public safety needs, especially when existing cooperative agreements are already in place. A steering committee comprised of various city officials from multiple municipalities is expected to meet in July and issue bids for the study.
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State Auditor warns that Missouri Remains on track for Budget Cuts
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State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released an updated report in June before the state budget was adopted, warning state leaders that expenditures were projected to be nearly $2 billion more than revenue for FY 2027 and the General Revenue Fund will be completely exhausted early in FY 2027. He urged Gov. Kehoe to proactively balance the budget now before more painful cuts are needed in the future.
Read the press release and full report HERE.
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Governor Kehoe Signs 2027 State Budget
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Gov. Kehoe signed the July 2026 - June 2027 state budget on June 30th. The FY 2027 operating and capital improvement budget totals $50.7 billion.
The Governor highlighted his key priority areas in the budget of public safety ($2bn), economic development ($338mn), agriculture ($60mn), education ($9.8bn), and healthcare ($24.8bn). Kehoe stated that the state does not have a revenue problem, but has a spending problem. The state faces a projected shortfall of more than $500 million in FY28.
See the press release, list of vetoes and budget HERE.
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Ameren's Eastern Missouri
Grid Transformation Project
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Ameren Missouri and Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois are working together to build a more reliable and resilient energy grid for the future.
The Eastern Missouri Grid Transformation Project includes more than 130 miles of new and upgraded transmission lines through Marion, Ralls, Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Louis counties, as well as the City of St. Louis.
Click HERE to learn more about the project and to view maps and resources.
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The American Public Works Association is hosting their annual conference in Houston, TX from August 30th through September 2nd.
PWX provides multi-modal learning experiences for professionals at all levels and across the entire spectrum of public works. Public works directors, city engineers, fleet managers, city planners, elected officials, and emergency management coordinators are invited to join the expo for breakout sessions, seminars, workshops, networking opportunities, and the largest exhibit floor for public works equipment and services.
Click HERE to register for the event.
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St. Louis Urban Area
Operational Readiness Summit
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East-West Gateway and the St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS), the consortium of organizations dedicated to regional emergency management, are hosting a readiness summit August 3-4. The summit will bring together regional partners to build relationships prior to a critical incident. On the first day, experts will discuss cybersecurity, weather events, and disaster response. A half-day tabletop exercise on Aug. 4th will offer attendees the opportunity to coordinate and implement lessons learned.
Click HERE to register for the summit.
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Park Grant Application Now Open
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The Municipal Park Grant Commission's annual construction grant application is now open! Grants may be used to fund park renovation projects such as playgrounds, water parks, golf courses, trails, recreation centers, ice rinks and other types of facilities. Funding is awarded to municipalities based on the strength of their grant applications, including factors such as need, planning, community input, and prior awards. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 28 at 3pm.
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Maplewood Unveils New Logo
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The City of Maplewood has unveiled its new brand identity that reflects the community's character, values, and vision for the future. The process started in 2025 with Creative Entourage and involved development of a new logo, city seal, department branding, and comprehensive brand standards. The mosaic style line-art design explores themes of walkability, connectivity, and Maplewood's relationship to Route 66 as the city's spine.
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St. Louis County
Announces Next Chief of Police
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The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners has appointed Colonel Juan Cox as the permanent Police Chief following the retirement of Colonel Kenneth Gregory. Cox is the eleventh Chief in department's history. He joined the department in 1995 and previously served in the North County Precinct, Central County Precinct, South County Precinct, City of Jennings Precinct, and the Bureau of Drug Enforcement.
Read the full press release HERE.
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MoDOT Names St. Louis District Engineer
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Tom Evers has been named the district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s St. Louis District. Evers will take over leadership of the five-county region from retiring district engineer Tom Blair.
A registered professional engineer in Missouri and lifelong resident of the area, Evers has spent 27 years with the St. Louis District in various roles, most recently as the assistant district engineer overseeing program delivery. Throughout his career, he has contributed to numerous major initiatives in the St. Louis area, including the I-70 Westbound Blanchette Bridge over the Missouri River and the Route 364 – Page Extension projects.
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July
- 1 – First day of Missouri’s 2027 fiscal year
August
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The 2026 Training Academy schedule can be seen above. If you are interested in any of the topics, Municipalities can register for the program and pay annual tuition HERE. Annual tuition allows all elected officials, staff members, and board/commission members within your municipality to attend all seminars throughout the year and access the archive of previously recorded webinars.
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2026
Municipal League
Events
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| DATE |
EVENT |
LOCATION |
| Sep 24 |
Membership Meeting |
Ballwin |
| Oct 1 |
Municipal League Golf Tournament |
Florissant Golf Club |
| Oct 22 |
Membership Meeting |
Dellwood |
| Dec 10 |
Holiday Open House/Exhibit Hall |
Maryland Heights Community Center |
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