Budget, fire sales tax top agenda for Cape city council

Budget issues and the fire sales tax campaign will be on the agenda for discussion when the Cape Girardeau City Council holds its annual retreat Friday.

The public meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude shortly before 4 p.m. at the Osage Community Centre.

City manager Doug Leslie said he will discuss the fire sales tax "information program" that city staff members plan to present to civic clubs prior to the June 8 election.

But Mayor Jay Knudtson said council members, as well as spouses of police officers and firefighters, plan to actively campaign for passage of the tax and not rely solely on presentations to civic clubs.

Knudtson said he doesn't want the council to get bogged down in budget issues during the retreat.

"Often times it ends up just being a long drawn out budget session," the mayor said of past retreats. "Hopefully we will be able to expand the scope to include some more strategic planning."

In keeping with that goal, the city staff will update the council on utility and street construction projects. Improvement plans for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport also will be discussed.

But the mayor said some budget discussion is inevitable. "There are some nuts and bolts things we have to do," he said.

Leslie said the first hour and a half of Friday's meeting will be devoted to budget issues including tax revenue forecasts as the city draws up its budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

The daylong meeting at the Osage Community Centre is a departure from past retreats which have been held at Black Forest Village meeting center north of Cape Girardeau.

Knudtson said the change in location is a cost-cutting move. But neither he nor city staff could identify the amount of cost savings Wednesday.

Leslie said the Osage Community Centre also is "more convenient and accessible" for council members and members of the city staff than the more rural Black Forest location.

He said time will be included at the end of the council retreat for council members to have open discussion on any issue.

The council won't be taking formal action on any issue at the retreat, Leslie said. Any decisions ultimately must be voted on at a regular council meeting, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123