Cape council to consider putting fire tax on ballot

Cape Girardeau voters may get a second chance to vote on a proposed quarter-cent fire sales tax.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said Friday such a tax could provide needed funding for fire and police operations hampered by equipment breakdowns and salaries that aren't competitive with other cities' public safety departments.

The tax, he said, could generate an estimated $2 million a year and might include funding for emergency sirens that could be heard citywide.

But Councilman Charlie Herbst said it might be wise to limit any tax proposal to the most immediate public safety needs. Including a warning system proposal in the mix might make it tougher to pass a tax, Herbst said.

The city council is scheduled to discuss the tax proposal at its meeting Monday. Knudtson said the council could vote early in January to put the issue on the April 6 ballot. County election officials said any ballot issue has to be submitted by Jan. 27 to get on the April ballot.

Doug Leslie, city manager, said it "would be a logical thing" to fund a siren system with a fire tax.

Leslie said state law allows for a fire tax to fund public safety operations

The council hasn't voted on the sirens issue, but city officials have looked at the topic off-and-on for years. The issue resurfaced again after a tornado tore through Jackson in May.

Southeast Missouri State University has a siren system, and the city has had discussions with campus public safety officials about the possibility of erecting city sirens that would tie in with the university system.

In recent weeks, city officials have said the lack of competitive salaries has left the police department short of officers and firefighters have had to cope with aging, deteriorating fire trucks that increasingly have been sidelined for repairs.

Voters in April of this year soundly rejected four tax and fee issues, including a fire sales tax.

City officials say voters might approve a well-defined fire tax.

Knudtson said he won't support any tax measure that doesn't include a sunset clause automatically terminating the tax in a specified number of years. Also, he said, it must be clearly spelled out how the money would be spent.

Knudtson suggested the tax could be terminated after 10 years unless extended by voters. Herbst said the tax needs to be in place at least seven years.

Both men said the fire tax could put the city in a position to issue bonds that could be retired with money from the tax.

Unlike the last city tax vote, Herbst said city government can't ask voters to approve funding to cover all the city's operating needs. At this point, he said, the focus has to be on public safety.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123