Mayor proposes plan to change St. Louis Police Board’s focus

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis City Mayor Cara Spencer announced Wednesday her plan to “refocus” the St. Louis police board and SLMPD.

Spencer proposed four priorities for the board to focus on in a press release:

1. Get officer pay right. Immediately issue an RFP for an independent compensation study to bring starting salaries in line with regional and national markets, without negatively affecting any current officer.
2. Exercise real oversight and coordinate with the City. Adopt a resolution affirming the Board’s responsibility for operational oversight, and require SLMPD to share Incident Action Plans with the City Emergency Management Agency and Fire Department before every major city-wide event, consistent with national incident management standards.
3. Accelerate violence and crime prevention. Give the City’s Office of Violence Prevention standing access to shooting reviews, and set joint quarterly targets with the Director of Public Safety on traffic safety, problem properties, and infrastructure vandalism.
4. Commit to transparency, fairness, and fiscal integrity. Publish outside-counsel billing records within 30 days and strictly follow the Sunshine Law; schedule promotional exams within six months; return to the table to reach a contract with civilian staff; publish current and annual demographic data on the force and command staff; create clearer processes for civilian complaints to be addressed and civilian oversight.

Mayor Spencer’s Plan To Build The Nation's Premier Police Department In St. Louis by kalielstrain

Spencer says the goal of her plan is to turn SLMPD into one of the nation’s premier police departments.

This proposed plan follows the board approving a new contract for SLMPD’s police chief during closed-door meetings and nearly approving a reality TV agreement.

Spencer says SLMPD is still down hundreds of officers from 2020 and that civilian staff for the department have gone 16 months without a contract.

“The Board found time to notice two ‘emergency’ meetings to approve $110,000 for a raise for the highest-paid person in the department,” Spencer said. “It has not found time to negotiate a new contract with civilian staff, whose contract expired in July 2025. Those are the wrong priorities.”

The mayor, who serves as a member on the police board, says she plans to bring this list of priorities to the board’s upcoming meetings.

“The women and men of SLMPD do hard and dangerous work, and they deserve a Board that is focused on them,” she said. “None of this is radical. These are the basics of a well-run police department, and all commissioners must act to make them a priority.”