State Rep. Don Calloway, D-Bel-Nor, has introduced a in the Missouri House that would make it harder for fire protection districts in Missouri to be taken captive by looters, as happened in the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District.
His bill would increase the minimum number of fire board members from three to five and reduce members’ terms from six years to three. It’s a good idea and long overdue, but it is expected to run into heavy opposition.
That’s because the same law that makes it easy for looters to take over a district also makes it easy for firefighters unions to take over a district: Simply elect two union-friendly candidates in a low-turnout April election, and presto! Pretty soon rookie firefighters in the district are making $65,000 to $75,000 a year, with veterans often making more than $100,000.
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Compare those to salaries of between $33,000 and $51,000 for a St. Louis city firefighter, who often fights more serious fires in a month than his suburban colleagues fight in a year.
Back in 2004, when the Post-Dispatch’s Elizabethe Holland and Susan Weich the perks enjoyed in area fire districts, they found that fire board members often paid themselves several times for attending the same meetings, enjoyed nice benefits and bonuses and were treated like kings by equipment manufacturers when they traded in fire trucks, which was often.
After the Post-Dispatch series ran, the Legislature the double-dipping, but it dodged the larger problem of three-member districts spending millions of tax dollars.
Given the in the Northeast district since 2007, this should be a no-brainer. In April 2007, attorney and former Democratic state Rep. Elbert Walton Jr. — who already controlled then-board president Joseph L. Washington — succeeded in getting Robert Edwards elected to the board of what was then the Normandy Fire Protection District.
In short order, Mr. Walton’s two-member majority changed the name of the district and hired Mr. Walton as the board’s attorney. The district’s legal bills skyrocketed. When taxpayers complained, Mr. Walton handled their complaints, and then billed the district $200 an hour for doing so.
When complaints and public outrage mounted, Mr. Walton simply moved district meetings to a new, asbestos-laden district headquarters building in Beverly Hills, where a tame police department was happy to arrest people he wanted arrested, including Mr. Calloway.
Ms. Holland’s dogged reporting finally got outside authorities involved; Mr. Washington stepped down to become fire chief and then was indicted on federal charges related to asbestos mitigation in the new fire district headquarters. Missouri Auditor Susan Montee savaged the district’s financial operations, calling it the worst-run agency her office had ever seen.
The board’s membership was shuffled and Mr. Walton was fired — though he’s still seeking hundreds of thousands in severance pay. St. Louis County Circuit Court Judges John Ross and Dale Hood clamped down on district operations, but Mr. Washington, too, still is trying to get $450,000 in termination money.
Last week, Judge Hood Robert Edwards removed as the board’s chairman for making decisions without a board quorum. Mr. Edwards’ defense: His attorney told him it was OK. His attorney: Mr. Walton.
Mr. Walton’s fingerprints are all over this mess, but so far, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch hasn’t gotten them on a booking sheet. In case he doesn’t, the Legislature should pass Mr. Calloway’s bill and make it harder for Mr. Walton the next place he lands.
