Cape voters need plainer, simpler plan

It will take a while to absorb the impact of Tuesday's voting in Cape Girardeau on four tax and fee issues that would have generated more than $4 million a year in revenue for operating needs and capital improvements which the city says are urgently needed.

Moreover, some thought will have to be given to other options to meet the city's financial needs. To do nothing will only send a signal to the city's residents that the situation wasn't so dire after all. City officials have said already that most residents won't see any decline in city services, which means voters who said no to new taxes will feel vindicated while city employees -- who are responsible for delivering high-quality services without needed equipment, facilities and pay increases -- bear the brunt of the Tuesday's decisions.

If there are lessons to be learned from the buildup to Tuesday voting and the choices made by voters -- none of the issues came close to the simple majorities needed for passage, they should be studied now so that the same concerns aren't repeated. Here are three areas that warrant particular notice:

The committee of city employees -- which spent months last year assessing the financial needs to meet a growing list of needs -- proposed a sales-tax increase to raise the money. But a citizens committee that also was asked to review the situation opted instead for four tax and fee issues. In adopting the four-pronged plan, the city took on a nearly impossible task of selling four plans instead of one.

The sales job was made even more complicated by a disconnect between the four issues and the priority list of needs. New equipment, including major items for the fire department, were on the needs list, but they were not tied to any particular tax issue. Only storm-water projects were specifically linked to one of the issues, and even that was muddied by the plan to replace general revenue with new revenue from the proposed storm-water fees.

In all the publicity about the deliberations of the employee task force, the need for a water park to replace the aging pool at Capaha Park was never presented as a crucial concern. Yet when the citizens task force made its recommendations, the water park was on the priority list -- albeit at the bottom.

Once the need for a water park began to be emphasized, there was no direct connection to any of the tax issues on the ballot. There were probably as many voters who wanted to vote specifically for the water park issue -- if they could find it on the ballot -- as there were those who opposed any city participation in such a project. But the ballot was too confusing, and some voters either didn't vote on some of the issues or voted no because they didn't understand.

A lot of voters said this was the wrong time to be asking for tax increases: bad economy, war in Iraq, a general distaste for taxes. But results from around Missouri last week indicated voters were willing to support tax issues where the needs were clear and the ballot language matched those needs.

The No. 1 expectation voters have of any tax issue is that a convincing case has been made that what they are being asked to approve is clearly needed. In Cape Girardeau last Tuesday, the four issues and the needs listed by the city didn't appear to make sense to a majority of voters. The next effort will have to be plainer and simpler.