ST. LOUIS – Starting Monday, the City of St. Louis will stop issuing new city construction contracts under its Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) goals, due to new federal guidance that threatens to withhold or eliminate funding for cities that maintain such programs, according to the mayor’s office.
Mayor Cara Spencer wrote a public letter to city residents, workers and businesses on Friday, noting that the pause is a precautionary step while the City works to revise its contracting policies to comply with shifting federal requirements.
Spencer says the changes are necessary to avoid losing access to critical federal disaster recovery funds, including funds tied to the May 16 tornado recovery efforts…