City Challenges Constitutionality Of Law Requiring Payment To Fire District

Posted by: Curt Varone May 24, 2017 1 Comment

The City of Crestwood, Missouri is challenging the constitutionality of state laws that require it to pay the Affton Fire Protection District to provide services to an annexed area of the city when the city has its own fire department.

The suit was filed today in Cole County Circuit Court naming the Affton Fire Protection District, Governor Eric Greitens and Attorney General Josh Hawley as defendants. It alleges that the required annual payments to the the Affton Fire Protection District amount to taxation without representation, and the laws that mandate the payments violate the Missouri Constitution’s prohibition against special laws that treat certain parts of St. Louis County differently than other counties.

At the center of the controversy is an area that the city annexed in 1997 that was formerly protected by Affton FPD. According to the Call, Crestwood officials believe they can save at least $50,000 a year by having the Crestwood Fire Department provide coverage to the annexed area as opposed to paying AFPD.

The suit alleges that the present situation leaves city taxpayers with no voice in AFPD financial affairs, and a statutory obligation to fund the district.

According to a press release by Crestwood Mayor Gregg Roby:

  • Crestwood residents are being forced to subsidize the operations of the Affton Fire Protection District.
  • It’s taxation without representation.
  • The area Crestwood annexed makes up only a tiny portion of the Affton Fire Protection District.
  • When Affton increases its tax levy, as they did in 2012 and again in 2017, most Crestwood residents don’t get a say, but we are stuck with the ever-increasing bills.
  • We’ve seen our annual payment to Affton double since 2001— from $219,000 to $444,000 in 2016.

More on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
© Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved. | FireLawBlog.com & Curt Varone | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
x

Check Also

KCMO Challenges Arbitration Award in Triple Fatal Crash

The City of Kansas City is appealing an arbitration decision that reduced the disciplinary penalty for the firefighter responsible for the 2021 triple-fatal apparatus crash to a three-day suspension without pay. Dominic Biscari was driving Kansas City’s Pumper 19, when it ran a red light, collided with an SUV, struck several parked cars, came to rest in a building, and in the process killed three people.

NJ Court Upholds Officers Being in Same Bargaining Unit as Firefighters

The Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court has upheld a ruling of the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission concluding that lieutenants can be included with firefighters in a collective bargaining unit. The case involved a challenge brought by the Borough of Carteret seeking to separate lieutenants from the rank-and-file firefighters.