The annual fireworks display for the City of Hazelwood has been canceled again this year as Mayor Matt Robinson has sent a letter to residents that the city could be facing bankruptcy.
\nMany city venues have been affected. Popular programs like leaf collection in the fall, limb collection in the spring, opening Civic Center East on Dunn Rd…they can\u2019t be restored without \u201ca more secure financial position.\u201d
\nMayor Robinson said in his letter that \u201cif bankruptcy occurs, core city services such as police, fire, street maintenance and snow plowing will continue but in a much reduced capacity.\u201d
\nMost of this concern about bankruptcy revolves around a contract with the Robertson Fire District, which city officials have long stated, was unfair and that the city needs to break away from (the bills from Robertson FPD). Federal stimulus money had provided funds to aid the city. The two sides have been fighting for years in the courts over a contract that forces Hazelwood to pay extra for services in an area the city had already been serving.
\nRobinson said in his letter there is also good news. He wrote:
\n\u201cDue to federal stimulus money from the CARES Act and ARPA, the City has been able to maintain its financial footing. The City\u2019s economic development efforts have also begun to pay off. You have undoubtedly seen the many new warehouses in Aviator (the old Ford plant), Hazelwood Logistics Center, and Hazelwood TradePort. There are over 1,000 new jobs in Hazelwood. The City, through program and budget reductions, has been able to maintain reasonable reserves and fund balances.\u201d
\nThe City terminated the contract with Robertson Fire Protection District due to the excessive cost and mismanagement of taxpayer money by the Board of Directors. Nevertheless, the \u201cCity continues to pay Robertson the amount they levied in 2021, over $4.5 million per year. If the City can obtain a more reasonable cost, closer to what Hazelwood pays for fire service in the area served by the Hazelwood Fire Department, these programs can be brought back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bankrupty Concerns Force Cancellation of Hazelwood July 4th Fireworks Display The annual fireworks display for the City of Hazelwood has been canceled again this year as Mayor Matt Robinson has sent a letter to residents that the city could be facing bankruptcy. Many city venues have been affected. Popular programs like leaf collection in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,8,10,15,20,25],"tags":[1426,119,1427],"class_list":["post-24915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florissant-business-news","category-city-government","category-county-government","category-features","category-hazelwood","category-missouri","tag-bankrupt","tag-city-of-hazelwood","tag-no-leaf-collection","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n