VALLEY PARK, Mo. — The City of Valley Park stopped city services and closed city hall Monday. The shutdown was put off Tuesday when the Board of Aldermen approved the previous budget for two more weeks.
The city will hold additional meetings of the Finance Way & Means Committee and Board of Aldermen to approve a new budget for the whole fiscal year.
Mayor Chandra L. Webster admonished the aldermen who did not show up to committee meetings and board of aldermen meetings, calling the situation "regretful."
"It will be interesting to see if the aldermen who chose to ignore the last 2 months of meetings will now show up and be prepared to intelligently and more importantly, honestly, discuss the budgetary issues the City must address," Webster's emailed statement read Tuesday.
The city's buildings were already scheduled to be closed for Independence Day but would reopen Wednesday.
Why were city services stopped?
The city failed to pass a budget after aldermen were not present to vote on it, according to the city's attorney Monday.
The city's Board of Aldermen held a special meeting on June 29 to approve the budget and pay ranges. The board has to have five affirmative votes to pass the budget and only four voted, "yes."
The mayor can only vote in the event of a tie, so Mayor Webster was not able to step in, the city's attorney told 5 On Your Side.
There are eight members of the Board of Aldermen. The city's attorney did not name the absent aldermen.
