BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. — City services in one North County community have been brought to a halt after a walkout by city employees.
The doors at Bellefontaine Neighbors City Hall are locked after all non-essential city employees held a walkout that may not end anytime soon if city leaders don't act quickly and meet workers demands to raise pay. It's leaving some residents worried that work around the city may screech to a halt.
For years, longtime Bellefontaine Neighbors residents Tonya Bryant and Jim Shaw have been asking the city to patch the potholes along their street.
“The neighborhood is starting to go downhill,” Tonya Bryant said.
“You’re dodging potholes as big as ditches,” Jim Shaw said.
They’ve repeatedly tried to take their concerns to City Hall, but Monday morning they were greeted by a letter stating that the building was closed after city employees walked off the job in protest.
“I understand they want to get paid,” Bryant said. “We’re still paying taxes and things are not being done around here.”
According to the letter posted outside City Hall, over the past several months city departments such as law enforcement, public works, administration, courts, and parks and rec have become increasingly understaffed, with the remaining employees stretched thin trying to cover the gaps.
“They need to make a change quick, fast, and in a hurry,” Shaw said.
In a statement, city workers placed the blame on the town’s Board of Aldermen, which they claim has become combative, unproductive, and negligent of the city’s duty to its people.
“They won’t answer your call,” Shaw said. “You try to get something done and they won’t answer your questions. They give you lullaby answers is what I call them.”
Though multiple members of the Board of Aldermen, and the City’s Mayor, declined comment on this story residents like Bryant and Shaw it’s time for them to step up.
“People need help,” Shaw said.
“Everybody needs a job,” Bryant said “Everybody needs a raise. Times are changing. Everything is high. Yes, they may need a pay raise. Give it to them. Allocate the money where it’s supposed to be allocated!”
The Bellefontaine Neighbors Board of Aldermen is having an emergency meeting Monday night, but instead of discussing City Hall's closure and employee concerns, they're scheduled to discuss the city contract for rock salt.