Cape council discusses tax measures to fund water, street, airport projects

Putting sales tax issues before voters this year and next topped Cape Girardeau City Council discussion Monday night.

City manager Scott Meyer said the city’s 1/4-cent capital improvements sales tax will expire at year’s end.

Meyer said city officials must decide soon what projects would be funded if voters are asked in August or November to extend the sales tax for another 10 or 15 years.

In 2020, city officials will seek voter approval to extend the half-cent transportation sales tax for another five years.

The current capital improvements sales tax has been used to fund sewer and, more recently, water improvement projects.

The capital improvements tax generates about $2.6 million a year, according to city staff.

City officials said there is a long list of water system improvements totaling more than $14 million in estimated costs that still need to be addressed.

Meyer and council members suggested during the study session street repairs also might be funded from any extension of the capital improvements tax.

Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard said perhaps some of the capital improvements money could be used to maintain neighborhood streets.

Council members said the city could benefit from devoting some of the revenue from the transportation and the capital improvements taxes to street repairs.

Mayor Bob Fox said the city’s streets are deteriorating “faster than we have money to repair them.”

Guard said the transportation trust fund (TTF) tax measure should be “weighted” toward repairing neighborhood streets.

Ward 6 Councilwoman Stacy Kinder said the council also needs to look at how to fund various improvements at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Airport improvements have depended in many cases on state and federal grants.

But Kinder and other council members said the city needs to look at whether airport projects could be funded partly with capital improvements and transportation trust fund revenue if voters extend those two taxes.

Fox said, “The airport is one of those things that has been left out.”

Ward 1 Councilman Daniel Presson agreed.

“We need to look at our airport as an asset,” he said, adding city officials need to look at different types of funding.

Fox said city officials expect boardings to increase at the airport.

As a result, the city needs to look at improving the terminal, including expanding the passenger holding area and adding bathrooms in the secured area, Fox said.

Council members took no action at Monday’s meeting regarding the tax measures, but instructed city staff to provide more details on what water and transportation projects might be funded.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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