WEST ASHLEY — Charleston city officials want to renegotiate a financial agreement with the St. Andrews Public Service District they are calling a bad deal for city taxpayers.

The state Legislature established the public service district back in 1949 to provide limited governmental functions, like fire protection and trash collection to West Ashley, which was entirely unincorporated at the time.

Public service districts operate as independent governmental units that exist separately from the county and city, and are primarily funded by property taxes.

Decades later, the city has annexed much of the former suburb, where now more than 40 percent of the city’s population resides.

The agreement states that after a property is annexed, the city must pay the public service district for

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