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Most decisions over the money, left over from $193 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated last year to the county, were paused in February when the county launched a public survey and a series of town halls to get public feedback.

, gleaned from 3,346 responses, which identified public health, youth services and infrastructure as top priorities.

That input will have to be squared with a list of proposals before the County Council, some of which were introduced late last year.

And the legislative body is expected to review further recommendations from County Executive Sam Page’s administration for as much as $57.8 million, which Page said Monday was based on the public input from a recent survey and several town halls.

Meanwhile, some of the county’s proposed federal aid spending, Page and Council Chair Rita Days, D-1st District, have said, could be reallocated if the Missouri Legislature matches county funding for some projects, including demolition of Jamestown Mall.

“All of these things will come together before we make any decisions,� Days said. “I’m of the opinion we need to come together with a full scope of the monies we have and the proposals we have in front of us.�

Councilmen Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, who each sponsored large spending proposals that have been up for a final vote for weeks, said Thursday that they expected to revise their bills to reduce the amount they’re seeking.

Fitch, a former county police chief, has three bills that together would spend $29 million on the police department, including $15 million to build a new Central County precinct and evidence storage facility, $10 million to build a real-time crime surveillance center, and $3.8 million to buy 50 patrol vehicles.

The bill for the surveillance center, which currently calls for $15 million, will be revised after Chief Kenneth Gregory said he would apply for federal grants for the other $5 million, Fitch said.

Trakas said Thursday he is paring his request for projects in his south ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County district from $30 million to $25 million at the request of other council members. But he says his district, which is mostly unincorporated, deserves at least that because other parts of the county benefit from $133 million in ARPA funds shared by the county’s 88 municipalities.

Both Republicans’ plans could come up for a final vote as early as Tuesday.

The council also could vote on Councilwoman Shalonda Webb’s bill to put $6 million toward the demolition of Jamestown Mall in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County. The 4th District representative is working with state Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, to secure state funding for the project.

Webb said Thursday, during a meeting of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Port Authority, that her bill will “guarantee that demolition happens.â€�

Page’s office on Wednesday emailed the council with his administration’s recommendations, which he outlined in a news conference Monday, including $15 million for subdivision road repairs in unincorporated areas, $10 million to support nonprofits providing social services, $7.5 million to support small businesses, and $5 million for improvements to the MET job training center in Wellston.

But it remains to be seen how much of the proposal gets support from the seven-member council amid long-running discord between Page and a bipartisan majority of his critics, including a controversial vote in 2020 to cede federal aid spending to the executive branch.

Over objections from Republicans, a council majority of Democrats had voted to give Page’s office wide discretion to spend $173.5 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, arguing the legislative body wouldn’t move quickly enough in an emergency. Federal regulations, at the time, required the money be spent by the end of the year.

Unlike the CARES Act money, the County Council has retained authority over the ARPA funds, granting some requests from Page’s office over the year, including using $84 million to replace revenues slashed during the pandemic.

But Fitch said Thursday that he considered the remaining ARPA dollars to be the council’s to appropriate and wouldn’t consider Page’s proposals.

“His recommendations mean nothing to me,� Fitch said.

Page spokesman Doug Moore said Fitch was discounting a plan “based on the voices of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County residents.â€�

“If Mr. Fitch decides to ignore those that’s his prerogative, but he’s elected by the people so I would think he wants to listen to the residents,� Moore said.

Days voted in 2020 to give Page’s office spending authority before becoming one of his main critics. She said Thursday that she hadn’t reviewed Page’s recommendations, but supported funding for the MET Center, which is in her district.

Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, said the council had outlined major priorities for CARES Act spending and had further input from a series of hearings.

Now, she said, the council has no real coordination over how to spend the ARPA dollars.

“We’ve got a lot of disjointed proposals on our agenda, and it appears we’re kind of throwing things on a wall to see what will stick,� she said.

Updated at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21.