City of St. Louis Ends Fiscal Year 2022 With $49 Million Surplus

(St. Louis – September 9, 2022) Comptroller Darlene Green announced today that the City of St. Louis closed its fiscal year 2022 with an operating budget surplus of $49.4 million.

“While pandemic related fiscal challenges are ongoing, St. Louis city is fortunate to have outperformed expectations during the fiscal year due to citywide recovery efforts,” said Comptroller Green.

The city’s fiscal year 2022 total revenues showed 7.4% growth over the prior fiscal year. During the ongoing recovery period, revenue sources exceeded budget projections by $33.7 million, while departmental expenditures came in lower by $15.7 million. Lower departmental expenditures can be largely attributed to vacant positions.

“Despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Louis’ revenues exceeded expectations this past fiscal year,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “In this year’s budget and through the American Rescue Plan, St. Louis has instituted raises to city employees, offered an employee retention incentive, and invested in fixing our infrastructure. With this surplus, St. Louis has the opportunity to continue making critical investments in our city’s workforce and capital improvements.”

By ordinance, half of the operating balance ($24.7 million) will be transferred to the city’s Capital Fund. The remainder will accrue to the city’s General Fund reserve which is over 16%.

  ###

Comptroller Darlene Green  is the chief fiscal officer of the City of St. Louis and is charged with safeguarding the city’s credit rating and with protecting taxpayer dollars. Visit www.stlouis-mo.gov/comptroller to learn more about the Office of the Comptroller.