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The City of Hazelwood City Council met Jan. 17 and first welcomed new employees along with recognizing outgoing employees. The council then approved ordinances for redevelopment of the Phillips 66 station at the corner of Lindbergh and Elm Grove; a bible study college; and a new contract for ambulance billing services.

After a lengthy attempt by the Hazelwood City Council to negotiate in good faith with the Robertson Fire Protection District (RFPD) to amend the contract between both parties or to merge fire services to relieve the city of an unsustainable financial burden, the Council voted to terminate its contract with the RFPD.

Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the city’s fire department will be providing fire and EMS services to residents living in the area once served by the RFPD.

According to Mayor Robinson, “The City of Hazelwood has a duty to all its citizens and property owners to provide a full range of quality municipal services on a cost-effective basis. But this problem with RFPD has created a financial crisis which looms over the people who live and work in Hazelwood because vital city services and the city’s solvency are being put at risk by the excessive and unnecessary fees which the city is required to pay RFPD every year.”

The Hazelwood City Council intends to follow through with terminating the contract with RFPD. But Mayor Robinson gave a legislative report during last night’s City Council meeting that outlines ways the city can work with state legislators in developing bills to reinforce their efforts and provide other avenues for fixing a broken system.

Here is the five-pronged approach he proposed as a course of action:

• Allow voters to vote to pay for the taxes they have approved.
• Allow municipalities to negotiate a contract with the fire district and keep the tax levy at a regional level.
• Since the City of Hazelwood pays for 51 percent of the tax revenue to RFPD, which is dramatically more than what other municipalities are paying for their fire and EMS services, the City should have at least 3 members on the Board.
• Fire districts should provide a more transparent and detailed budget. When the City of Hazelwood asked to see RFPD’s detailed budget after numerous requests and needing to file a Sunshine Law request, the Fire District only provided an audit and small budget. The City’s request for detailed expenditures was never responded to. They didn’t show how RFPD spends their money or how much of their bond money has been spent.
• Creation of a Citizen’s Review Committee to study this issue and report to citizens and State legislators on the impact of the current system and possible solutions.

Residents who are interested in serving on this committee can contact the city clerk’s office at 513-5020.

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