Former St. Louis Police Chief Tim Fitch settles pension case

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page’s decision to deny former police chief Tim Fitch a portion of his pension has added to the burden on the county.

Following a recommendation from the Missouri Court of Appeals, the county agreed to settle the lawsuit with Fitch. This would significantly increase the county’s final costs.

The settlement reached Nov. 14 calls for the county to pay Fitch $339,000, the amount owed over the four years the pension was garnished.

But the settlement also requires the county to pay Fitch about $105,000 in interest and about $160,000 in Fitch’s legal costs.

The county must also pay more than $17,000 in legal fees to outside attorneys it hired to help handle the case.

Mr. Page’s spokesman, Doug Moore, declined to comment on the settlement.

This is not the first time the county has indicated that legal action is wrong on this issue.

When Fitch, a 31-year veteran of the county police department, was elected to the County Council in 2019, then-County Executive Steve Stenger suspended his pension payments of about $85,000 a year.

The county’s argument was that because Mr. Fitch is an employee, his pension should be suspended through the election of a member of Congress.

In June 2022, a county circuit judge ruled that the county’s retirement ordinance did not apply to elected officials, rejecting the county’s argument.

After the circuit court ruled in his favor, Fitch offered to settle with the county for only the amount that had been withheld, about $260,000 at the time.

“We had an agreement. And Sam Page agreed to it,” Fitch said.

However, shortly after winning the Democratic primary in August 2022, Dr. Page changed his mind and the county decided to appeal the decision. It will cost about twice as much as it normally would,” Fitch said.