Eight nonprofits have been waiting for more than a year for more than $8 million in total, money that would build an economic hub in North County, provide fresh vegetables to poor families and offer free legal aid to victims of domestic abuse, among other services.

Councilmembers on Tuesday accused Page’s administration of holding the money hostage.

“This is an embarrassment,” said Republican Councilman Mark Harder of Ballwin at a special committee meeting. “Cut the check and let’s move on.”

But Page doesn’t want to start paying for new programming until basic county needs are met, said Deputy Chief of Operations Kyle Klemp. The county will be responsible for monitoring the nonprofits’ expenditures, and it doesn’t have the staffing to do so. If it makes mistakes, the county will have to pay the money back to the federal government.

“We don’t want to introduce new services until the services that county residents expect are funded appropriately,” Klemp said.

Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, saw it differently.

“Put a different way, you’re going to continue to hold these folks hostage until we come up with some money,” Hancock said.

The county has been working on the pandemic aid since July 2021, when it landed a $193 million grant under the federal American Recovery Plan Act. Much of that went to paying for urgent public health expenses, filling a budget hole and demolishing the crumbing Jamestown Mall, among other projects. The council considered proposals from several nonprofits, and picked the finalists in fall 2022.

Nonprofits worked for months with the county and its compliance firm, global consulting company Deloitte. Now, they said they’ve done everything they’re required to do.

“We’ve already been vetted,” said Beverly Jenkins, CEO of Refuge and Restoration, a nonprofit that was awarded $500,000 to support its new economic hub in Dellwood, R&R Marketplace.

The nonprofit worked with Deloitte for 10 months to meet all of the grant’s requirements, Jenkins said, and believed it had gone through all the necessary “checks and balances.” It already spent the money it expected to receive, and now the nonprofit plans to fundraise to cover its expenses as it waits on the county.

“We’re dealing with the the needs of a community that has already suffered enough,” Jenkins said on Tuesday.

Janett Lewis, founder and director of Rustic Roots Sanctuary, said the Page administration told her in September the community farm could begin filing for reimbursement soon. But in a November meeting with Page’s office, Lewis learned the funding was on hold pending budget negotiations.

Klemp, the operations deputy, said the council’s decision to cut the budget changed things.

“We would never advise a subrecipient to take that risk on of making purchases without purchase agreements,” he said.

At least one nonprofit didn’t — St. Louis Survivors Legal Support wanted to use $25,000 to hire a part-time attorney to provide free legal support to survivors of domestic abuse. But they couldn’t count on the funds, said Tali Katz, director of legal advocacy.

“We weren’t able to rely on those funds, so we just never filled the position,” Katz said.

Instead, the nonprofit relies on all volunteer attorneys.

Before the county releases funds to the nonprofits, the Page administration wants the council to reverse $12 million of the $14 million in budget cuts it approved last year to offset a deficit.

But some councilmembers weren’t convinced county staff can’t handle monitoring the nonprofits. Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, said the council made cuts based on the county’s actual spending in 2022. It shouldn’t have a tangible impact on services, he said Tuesday.

The budget was built to support existing services, not new ones, Klemp responded.

Hancock asked if the county could pay the county’s compliance firm to monitor the nonprofits. That would be costly, Klemp said. Deloitte bills at $166 per hour, and the county has already paid the firm $2.3 million for its work on the pandemic aid.

“We want to use them to do something they’re good at, not for what we’re good at,” Klemp said.

But the county could use pandemic funding to pay Deloitte, and it would likely be cheaper than the $12 million the County Executive seeks, Hancock said.

Council Chair Shalonda Webb of unincorporated North County had suggested using NFL Rams settlement money to restore the cuts.

But Tuesday, she called Page’s explanation for withholding the money “disingenuous,” and said the Rams cash was off the table.

“There is no way that I’m going to do that,” Webb said.