A TALE OF SIX CITIES: APPROACHES TO PAYING FOR SERVICES VARY

Cape Girardeau may charge more than nearby cities for trash collection, water and sewer service, but that is because the city's property tax is low.

Jackson residents don't get billed for trash collection on their city utility bills, while Cape Girardeau bills its residents $12.73 a month. But Jackson's property tax is $1.05 per $100 assessed valuation and Cape Girardeau's is 66 cents.

"When people say something is free, there is no way anybody can say they give services away for free," said Michael G. Miller, Cape Girardeau city manager. He said Cape Girardeau attempts to have its garbage, water and sewer operations pay for themselves without tax subsidies while other cities subsidize many of those operations.

That doesn't hold true for Sikeston: It contracts refuse collection to Sonny's Solid Waste Service Co. for a charge of $8.75 a month. Private businesses are supposed to get city subsidies.

Cape Girardeau has curbside recycling while Sikeston doesn't. Sikeston City Manager Steve Borgsmiller said that accounts for the difference in cost.

The Southeast Missourian surveyed six cities -- Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Sikeston, Perryville and Jefferson City -- to determine what they charge residents for garbage collection, water and sewer service, the three services Cape Girardeau bills residents for. Jefferson City, although in another part of the state, has approximately the same population as Cape Girardeau.

Rates vary greatly, but so do property taxes. For a resident who uses 6,500 gallons of water a month, only Perryville charges more.

The totals for all three services are $18.10 at Scott City, $21.64 at Jackson, $23.90 at Sikeston, $42.80 at Jefferson City, $43.60 at Cape Girardeau and $44.74 at Perryville.

City property taxes run in almost the opposite direction. Cape Girardeau's 66 cents per $100 assessed valuation is lowest followed by Perryville's 84 cents, Sikeston's 85 cents, Jefferson City's 94 cents, Jackson's $1.05, and Scott City's $1.52.

All six cities have a 1-cent sales tax for general revenue with other sales taxes earmarked for special funds.

Does that mean that the cities with the lowest bills subsidize their services with tax revenues?

Yes, said Paul Sander, the mayor of Jackson. He said that when city officials there asked voters for approval of a sales tax in 1974, they promised it would be used in part to pay for garbage collection. He said the city is having a hard time continuing to subsidize it but will try to keep from billing residents for trash collection for as long as it can.

Jackson residents could be in for increases in sewer and water bills soon, Sander said. Jackson's population has outgrown its infrastructure, Sander said, and city officials are formulating a bond issue to pay for improvements. That probably will mean higher bills in the near future, he said.

The higher rates in Cape Girardeau and Perryville in part pay off similar bond issues. Miller said other cities may have to raise their water and sewer rates soon as they try to comply with new federal clean-water regulations.

Much of Perryville's rates go to pay off a $5 million bond issue for renovating the sewer plant and for replacing worn-out pipes, said Marilyn Dobbelare, city clerk of Perryville.

Cape Girardeau has an additional expense: In November 1991, city voters approved purchase of the water system from Union Electric Co. for $8.5 million, and it is still being paid off.

One other factor affects costs: Cities like Jackson and Sikeston use their municipal electric utilities to subsidize other city operations, Miller said. For example, the sewer and water plants in Jackson and Sikeston don't pay electric bills.

"Different cities choose different ways of financing services," Miller said.