Hazelwood Fire Service Structure

Fire Departments vs Fire Protection Districts

While the purpose of both fire departments and fire protection districts is to prevent and fight fire, each function very differently.

A fire department is publicly funded through tax revenue with its budget and activities overseen by the local government or municipality it services.

A fire protection district is a political subdivision also funded by tax revenue that functions and behaves more like a corporation than a municipality. Its activities and budget are overseen by the fire protection district itself, limiting the amount of oversight and transparency by local government and tax payers. Fire Protection Districts function based on laws defined in Chapter 321 and Section 72.418 for fire protection districts annexed in by cities.

Section 72.418 is essential for understanding why the City of Hazelwood and Crestwood are struggling with the fire protection districts in their area. Click here to learn more.

Annexed Fire Protection Districts under Section 72.418

Section 72.418 is essential for understanding why Robertson Fire Protection District (RFPD) and Florissant Valley Protection District (FVPD) maintain power over the City of Hazelwood’s payment process in the ongoing tax rate dispute.

Following the annexation of the RFPD territory in 1995, annexed fire protection districts lobbied lawmakers in Jefferson City to pass Section 72.418 in 1996 to ensure the City of Hazelwood would be required to pay the RFPD indefinitely as seen below in 72.418.2. Without an end date in the contract between Hazelwood and RFPD, and with the law now changed to solidify this payment structure, Hazelwood and Crestwood are legally obligated to pay their annexed fire districts without any control over their budgets, even if the city has no means to pay for their service.

Why does the RFPD & FVFPD have so many lobbyists?

Political subdivisions, municipalities and companies use lobbyists to promote and/or object to laws based on their perceived benefit or threat to the organiztion. This is why the number of lobbyists and what they are being used for is important to understand.

Protecting Section 72.418 may be the reason why RFPD and FVFPD retain more lobbyists than other fire protection districts in St. Louis County. These lobbyists are also used to pass other forms of legislation as well. Recently, Robertson Fire Protect District used their lobbyist group to help pass Senate Bill 870 that excludes fire protection districts from tax increment financing (TIF) deals.

Find the number and names of the lobbyists working for the RFPD at the Missouri Ethics Commission’s website.

Read the Law:

 72.418.  New city not to provide fire services, when — annexation, continuation of services — city to pay fire protection district, amount — voting provisions. 

1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no new city created pursuant to sections 72.400 to 72.423 shall establish a municipal fire department to provide fire protection services, including emergency medical services, if such city formerly consisted of unincorporated areas in the county or municipalities in the county, or both, which are provided fire protection services and emergency medical services by one or more fire protection districts.  Such fire protection districts shall continue to provide services to the area comprising the new city and may levy and collect taxes the same as such districts had prior to the creation of such new city.

  2.  Fire protection districts serving the area included within any annexation by a city having a fire department, including simplified boundary changes, shall continue to provide fire protection services, including emergency medical services to such area.  The annexing city shall pay annually to the fire protection district an amount equal to that which the fire protection district would have levied on all taxable property within the annexed area.  Such annexed area shall not be subject to taxation for any purpose thereafter by the fire protection district except for bonded indebtedness by the fire protection district which existed prior to the annexation.  The amount to be paid annually by the municipality to the fire protection district pursuant hereto shall be a sum equal to the annual assessed value multiplied by the annual tax rate as certified by the fire protection district to the municipality, including any portion of the tax created for emergency medical service provided by the district, per one hundred dollars of assessed value in such area.  The tax rate so computed shall include any tax on bonded indebtedness incurred subsequent to such annexation, but shall not include any portion of the tax rate for bonded indebtedness incurred prior to such annexation.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the residents of an area annexed on or after May 26, 1994, may vote in all fire protection district elections and may be elected to the fire protection district board of directors.

  3.  The fire protection district may approve or reject any proposal for the provision of fire protection and emergency medical services by a city.