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The changes come as the city tries to head off a shortfall projected to be between $6 million and $14 million over the next five years. Mayor Michelle Harris said lower sales tax revenues during the pandemic, inflation and the Hancock Amendment — which limits how much cities can tax its residents — triggered the financial shortfall.

“I think we have a perception and reality issue here for Clayton in the region because everybody knows that Clayton has a high median income, high property values, and we have a lot of amenities for our residents,� she said. “And that’s always been our mission. But during COVID, we got killed.�

The Board of Aldermen last month unanimously approved charging single-family homes just over $50 per month — plus container rental — for trash, recycling and yard waste service beginning Sept. 30. The mayor said residents have been largely understanding of the service change.

But the end of fall swimming at Shaw Park’s Olympic-sized pool has left a group of its members frustrated, calling on the city to reverse its decision. The city says it would cost roughly $39,500 to operate the pool for 25 days in September.

“We’re hoping that we can help them solve whatever problems they need to solve in order to keep the pool open longer and give us better access,� resident Andy Kanefield said.

Cities that don’t have diverse revenue sources struggled during the pandemic, according to Pat Kelly, executive director of the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis advocacy group. He said Richmond Heights and Des Peres, which benefit from their shopping malls’ sales tax revenue, also took a hit.

But Kelly said Clayton has probably taken the longest to come back. He said the city has largely generated its revenue through the people who work there, eat at its restaurants and spend the night at its hotels.

Federal funds bolstered the city in 2021 and 2022 — it received $1.7 million each year — under the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act, and it ran a general fund surplus in both years. But the influx has ended, and the city projected in its that a deficit would balloon to anywhere between $1.2 and $2.8 million annually through 2028.

Charging residents for trash pickup — a previously free service that was expected to cost the city $2.3 million in fiscal year 2023 — will help make up the financial hole, Harris said.

Two Clayton pools

For years, the outdoor pool at Shaw Park Aquatic Center stayed open for weeks after Labor Day.

But with the deficit, the mayor said it would be hard to justify keeping the pool open for Clayton residents or nonresidents who have purchased a pool membership.

Courtney DesMarais said she loves swimming outdoors so much she’d be willing to wear a scuba diving suit if it meant she could extend her Shaw season longer into the fall. When she heard that the pool would close on Labor Day, she said she felt blindsided.

“It feels really wrong because we’re the shareholders in this situation, or the stakeholders,� said DesMarais, a Central West End resident who is a member at the Clayton pool.

City communications manager Gabrielle Macaluso said Clayton didn't consult the swimmers in its initial decision to close the pool on Labor Day but said the issue was discussed in multiple public meetings. Based on prior years, roughly 80 people use the Shaw pool into September, and about half of those swimmers live in Clayton, according to city data.

The swimmers pitched cost-saving pool updates to the city, DesMarais said. They even offered to become certified lifeguards.

Toni Siering, the city’s director of parks and recreation, to the department’s commission on June 5 that it may consider a two-pronged approach to keeping the pool open: requiring at least 12 swimmers to become lifeguard-certified at their own expense, and the swimmers would need to cover the costs of keeping the pool open.

Even if the city kicked in $10,000, swimmers would have to pay between $300 and $600 each — depending on residency status and how many of them sign up — to cover the approximate $39,500 in operations cost.

“I barely even make that amount of money a year,� DesMarais said. “Yeah, it’s outrageous.�

Harris, the mayor, pointed out that the swimmers could use the indoor pool at the Center of Clayton, which is open year-round.

“You just have to question whether or not that’s fair to the rest of the community,� she said, of keeping the outdoor pool open.

Residents pick up the tab

Single-family homes in Clayton will see their bills increase by 4.5% annually through 2028. The rates for multifamily homes change based upon the type of service and are available on the city’s . Republic Services will still be the provider.

A company representative said at the that it isn’t the first time Republic Services has gone from billing the city to billing residents. But, she said, Clayton was the last city she knew of that covered alleyway service for its residents.

Alderwoman Bridget McAndrew said at the meeting that the decision was difficult but necessary.

“It was a hard decision in the sense knowing that we were going to have to tell our residents they were going to have to stomach this cost,� McAndrew said. “I don’t think it was a hard decision from the financial aspect of it.�

Linda Bardol, a Clayton resident, said when the city shifted the cost of its trash service onto residents, it had the same effect as raising taxes.

“It’s just we’re paying out of pocket, as opposed to bundled in our tax bill,� Bardol said.

Harris said Clayton is working on a program that would reduce the trash fee for residents with fixed or lower incomes. For now, she said, there’s no plan to change other city services as a result of the deficit.

“We have made sure that if we’re going to do something like discontinue a service, that will hold us steady, in terms of no deficit spending, for quite a long time,� Harris said.

Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed.