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ST. LOUIS — An influential foundation that has contributed an extra $100,000 per year to police Chief Robert Tracy’s salary for the past three years will not be renewing the agreement, raising questions about how the city will cover the gap.

St. Louis Police Foundation chief Michelle Craig said the deal expires at the end of the year and there are no discussions about continuing.

“It was always just going to be a three-year agreement,� Craig said in an interview Thursday.

“What happens beyond that doesn’t involve the foundation.�

The decision throws new uncertainty into the discussion of how the city will compensate and retain the leader of the police department following its controversial return to state control. And on Thursday, neither City Hall or the new, state-controlled Board of Police Commissioners had an immediate plan to prevent a six-figure pay cut.

Tracy, a 40-year law enforcement veteran who came up in New York City, served as a top deputy to the chief in Chicago and got his first chief’s job in Wilmington, Delaware, has won plaudits for his leadership in St. Louis. City officials have lauded him for advancing data-driven policing and presiding over a 30% drop in the homicide rate in his first two years. Gov. Mike Kehoe called him “.�

But the Police Foundation’s support — which boosts Tracy’s annual salary to $275,000 — was seen as critical to bringing him to St. Louis in the first place. And when the foundation first announced the deal in December 2022, it left open the possibility that it could continue past three years.

Now, the onus will be on City Hall and police commissioners to find another way, which may not be as simple as having the city cover the gap. If that happened, the city’s fire chief would need an equivalent raise, per a clause in the city charter. The public safety director, who oversees the fire chief, might need an increase, too.

And the work will play out at an already fractious time for the department. City Hall opposed the state takeover, arguing it was unnecessary and a threat to the progress made under Tracy. The chief himself spoke out against the idea in the Legislature, putting him at odds with the rank and file, whose organizations vocally backed the measure.

The St. Louis Police Leadership Organization, which represents supervisors and commanders, has also made no secret that it would prefer an insider in the top job rather than Tracy, the first St. Louis chief hired from outside the ranks. SLPLO even supported a provision in the law putting the department back under state control requiring future chiefs to come from within the department.

Police board members sounded surprised by the news the foundation will not renew the chief’s supplemental pay when informed at the end of a committee meeting Thursday afternoon.

Board President Chris Saracino said the board is “investigating all options.�

Commissioner Sonya Jenkins-Gray added, “We’re not ready to have any conversations around issues of personnel.�

Police Department spokesman Mitch McCoy interjected, saying the board would not discuss the matter further.

“They’re committed to the chief,� he said.

A spokesman for Mayor Cara Spencer, the only one of five voting commissioners not selected by the governor, declined comment Thursday afternoon.

Later Thursday, Craig said in an email that the foundation “remains committed to supporting the overall success of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.�

“At the City’s request, the Foundation provided assistance with the Police Chief’s compensation for a three-year term,� she wrote. “Moving forward, any decisions regarding financial support for the chief’s salary will be handled by the Board of Police Commissioners.�