The city has rejected plans to hire a consultant to review staffing shortages and other needs at the local fire department. Members of the Common Council, in a 10-to-5 vote, defeated on Tuesday a resolution that would have allowed the city to hire Missouri-based consulting firm Fitch & Associates, which some city officials had hoped would help them vet fire department funding requests. The firm, at a proposed cost of just under $60,000, would have reviewed the department’s staffing and infrastructure needs.