Section 1.10 Municipal Services and Functions

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

4. (§1.10) Municipal Services and Functions

As noted in §1.8 above, charter counties may provide “for the vesting and exercise of legislative power pertaining to any and all services and functions of any municipality or political subdivision, except school districts . . . .” Mo. Const. art. VI, § 18(c). If the county chooses to so provide with respect to the incorporated areas of the county, the charter must provide “a clear definition of the power, function or service to be performed and the method by which it will be financed,” and it must also state the limits in which municipalities may perform the power. Id.

Determining whether a service or function sought to be performed by a charter county is, in fact, the service or function of a “municipality or political subdivision” is crucial. In Chesterfield Fire Protection District of St. Louis County v. St. Louis County, 645 S.W.2d 367 (Mo. banc 1983), a fire protection district challenged a charter provision that created a fire standards commission with exclusive control “to establish and regulate minimum training and educational standards for those acting as firefighters in the County.” Id. at 369. The fire protection district argued that this matter was one of state-wide concern that had been delegated to fire protection districts, as evidenced by Chapter 321, RSMo, establishing such districts. Instead, the Court viewed...