Cape city officials: Sales taxes key to capital improvements funding

The city of Cape Girardeau's ability to fund major capital improvements over the next five years depends on voters renewing a series of three sales taxes -- one each in 2018, 2019 and 2020, city officials said Monday.

Voters will decide whether to extend a 3/8th-cent sales tax for parks and stormwater improvements in April. In 2019, a capital improvement sales tax for sewer improvements is set to expire unless voters extend it. In 2020, voters will be asked to extend the transportation trust fund (TTF) sales tax for another five years, officials said.

But during a discussion of the proposed five-year plan for roads, sewer, water, information technology and facility improvements, Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard questioned how the city would maintain its streets if voters don't extend the transportation sales tax (TTF 6) two years from now.

"TTF 6 isn't a given," Guard said at Monday's study session.

Ward 5 Councilman Bob Fox replied, "Without TTF 6 a lot of projects won't be done."

City manager Scott Meyer said that without the half-cent, transportation sales tax, the city will be hard pressed to do more than patch potholes on its 233 miles of streets.

Meyer said it is important to spell out the city's capital improvement needs to the public as it looks to win voter approval to extend the sales taxes.

But even with sales taxes, "we just cannot do everything," Meyer told the council.

Under the city charter, the council annually approves a five-year capital improvements plan. The latest plan, now under discussion by the council, details projects proposed for fiscal years 2018 to 2023.

The proposed plan calls for spending $50.6 million on capital improvements over the next five years. Transportation improvements would account for 53 percent of the projects, development services director Alex McElroy said.

Another $153 million in proposed projects are unfunded, McElroy said.

Guard suggested revising the five-year plan to allocate more money to street repairs in the coming years.

He questioned whether the city should spend $3.5 million to conduct a traffic study and improve Independence Street from Gordonville Road to Sunset Boulevard in 2018-2019.

Guard said the city needs to spend money on fixing potholes and overlaying pavement.

But Meyer said city officials promised voters in 2015 they would seek to improve Independence Street.

"I think it is important we keep our commitment to voters," he told the council.

Fox and other council members said the city will need to focus on repairs and maintenance projects for TTF 6.

Fox said, "The public is going to demand we spend more money on maintaining what we have."

As for the comprehensive capital improvements plan, it envisions several major road projects besides the Independence Street project. They include widening West End Boulevard from Rose to New Madrid streets in fiscal 2019 at an estimated construction cost of $2.6 million and reconstructing Main Street from Roberts Street to East Cape Rock Drive at a cost of $1.1 million for planning and construction in fiscal years 2019 and 2020.

Another $1 million is earmarked for planning and construction to extend Fountain Street from William to Independence streets as promised when voters extended the transportation tax in 2015.

Planning for the Fountain Street project is budgeted for fiscal 2020 with construction slated to occur in fiscal 2021, according to the planning document.

Mayor Harry Rediger said he hopes construction on some of the street projects, such as the Main Street project, could start before a transportation-tax extension comes before voters in 2020.

But Meyer, the city manager, said the transportation projects are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis, making it difficult to speed up the process.

McElroy, the development director, said a public hearing will be held on the capital improvements plan Feb. 19. The council is expected to adopt the plan March 5.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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