Cape city manager calls continuing employee loss 'a full-blown crisis'

Using a basketball metaphor, Cape Girardeau city officials are engaged this week in a full-court press to persuade residents to pass an internet sales tax on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The rhetoric has ramped up in recent days as Police Chief Wes Blair confirmed Wednesday an active and ongoing recruitment effort is underway to convince Cape Girardeau officers to accept higher-paying positions elsewhere.

"In all honesty, if I continue to lose officers to (Cape Girardeau) County or anywhere else, it's going to be pretty catastrophic for current service levels," said Blair, police chief since 2013.

For city manager Kenny Haskin, employee losses are being felt across the municipality.

"We're in a full-blown crisis (and) we are losing staff in all departments at a record pace," Haskin said in an emailed statement Wednesday to the Southeast Missourian. "Firefighters and other employees are working part-time jobs just to support their families. This is unsustainable. We've cut over $1 million out of our budget. We can't cut anymore. Our inability to capture (an) Internet sales tax has crippled the city. Most U.S. cities are already collecting revenue from Internet sales."

Since last year, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office has seen more funding because of the June 2, 2020, voter-approved county law enforcement public safety sales tax, which is estimated to generate $7 million annually.

"It used to be that sheriff's deputies made a little less than our officers but now that's flipped," said Mayor Bob Fox, who said voter approval of a tax on online sales could be a financial boon for what ails Cape Girardeau.

"We did an analysis of what such a tax would bring in a couple of years ago -- and our estimate was $2.5 to $3 million annually," said Fox, who will stand for a second mayoral election in April.

In his statement, Haskin used an illustration drawn from construction work.

"If you needed a new roof for your home and you ordered the shingles and other roofing materials but you (discover) there are no workers to install the new roof, a pallet of shingles in your yard doesn't do you any good. Similarly, police cruisers without officers do not do the citizens any good," wrote Haskin, who assumed his current role with the city last month.

"(Some) say 'trim your budget' and 'cut costs.' We have been doing that for years," he wrote. "Every budget cycle we have tightened our belts and trimmed costs where possible without cutting services. Our people have done more with less for a long time, but it is not sustainable. Others ask why the city doesn't use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to pay Public Safety expenses. ARP funds are temporary Federal funds with strict limits on their use. We are using some of the ARP funds to provide critical training for our officers and firefighters."

Fox added Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act monies received by the city are also, in his opinion, not a solution.

"There was a provision (in CARES) to give a bonus to public safety personnel but as a city, we thought it unfair if we didn't offer such a bonus across the board to every municipal employee, so we didn't," Fox said.

"The situation, honestly, is pretty dire," Blair said.