Fenton aldermen forward St. Louis County police contract adjustment after questions over $3.2 million cost

Lieutenant Edgecomb presented the proposed 2025 St. Louis County police contract to the City of Fenton Board of Aldermen, saying the agreement covers 22 contract officers and uses a unit-based billing method that rolls vehicle usage into officer costs rather than billing vehicles separately. Edgecomb gave line items and examples, saying an average officer’s salary and benefits are about $110,000 and that vehicle-usage costs for the Fenton contingent total roughly $99,000.

Edgecomb also described support and indirect costs (dispatch and related services) that are calculated using the city’s population and a three-year average of directed calls for service. He cited an overall annual contract total of $3,225,731.13 and noted a separate line-item figure of $1,940,410 tied to officer personnel, explaining how the county bundles supervisory and vehicle charges to produce savings compared with separate line-item billing for captains and vehicles.

Several aldermen pressed the panel on operational impacts and options. A council member described the contract as “by far our largest expenditure” and asked whether the city could request a role in selecting the local precinct captain when the current captain and chief retire. Edgecomb said the captain serves as the de facto chief for Fenton and said he would raise the council’s request with the county’s deputy chief.

Other concerns included an incident when city staff could not immediately reach Fenton officers during a water-main break and had to call the seventh precinct for assistance; a council member asked whether the most senior officer on duty could carry a direct phone for staff to speed response. Council members also asked staff to explore alternatives to reduce costs—options included sharing supervision or combining contracts with neighboring contract municipalities such as Twin Oaks or Valley Park—but Edgecomb cautioned that shared contracts can create uneven benefits depending on where directed calls concentrate.

After discussion, Alderman Claus moved to forward the annual cost adjustment for the police protection service agreement with St. Louis County to the full board; Alderman Harold seconded and the motion carried by voice vote.

What happens next: The adjustment will go to the full board for final action; staff and county representatives are expected to follow up on council requests for more information about supervision, response procedures for staff requests and options for shared services.