Cape Girardeau County OKs 2022 spending plan amid inflationary fears

Cape Girardeau County commissioners approved Monday a final 2022 budget referred to as "healthy" and "strong" by County Auditor Pete Frazier.

Cape Girardeau County did set a historic record for general sales tax receipts in 2021 by collecting nearly $8.5 million — an 8.7% increase from the previous record of $7.8 million set in 2020.

"It frightens me to hear entities, or even the public, say our sales tax numbers are the highest they've ever been," Frazier said. "Yes, they are the highest, but there could be a cliff coming. Inflation was running at about 6% at the end of the year. That's pretty high but the discussion is we're inching toward double-digit inflation."

Frazier, who sees part of his role as the county's financial watchdog, said potentially unchecked inflation in 2022 might have a major impact on revenue.

"We could see sales tax go down dramatically because people might choose to curtail spending, especially on disposable items — and we likely would not receive the sales tax revenue we anticipated."

After Frazier's initial budget presentation Dec. 16, Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy admitted the budget looked healthy but pledged to continue a conservative approach to expenditures.

"We will squeeze every nickel," Tracy vowed.

"We just have to be pretty cautious when we budget," Frazier added.

Budget

• The county's primary fund, the Revenue Fund, has an estimated income for 2022 of $11,477,349 with a balance on hand of $5,246,695.57, resulting in an estimated total funds available budget of $16,724,044.57.
• The Sheriff's Fund estimated revenue for 2022 is $12,197,640.33. The balance on hand at the end of 2021 was $4,035,516.79, yielding an estimate of $16,233,157.22 in total funds.
• The county's Road and Bridge Fund estimates 2022 revenue at $5,728,390.43. Adding in the year-end balance on hand of $4,017,317.79, results in a total estimated funds available budget of $9,745,708.22.
• The total estimated budget amounts of Prop 1 and Assessment Funds for 2022 come in at $8,264,610.84 and $1,430,765.83, respectively.

American Rescue Plan

By end of 2022, Cape Girardeau County expects to have received a total of $15,319,767 in federal American Rescue Plan funds. Half of it was received in 2021 and the remainder is anticipated during this calendar year.

The county has not spent any of it.

"We've been waiting on what's called the 'final rule,' and it came through from Washington, D.C., on Friday and I've not had a chance to look through all the details on it yet — but we know the rule broadens the horizon, the scope, on how those funds can be spent. It does give more flexibility on projects," Frazier said.

The County Commission, Frazier said, will decide on how the money will be spent.

Expenditure

The County Commission gave approval Monday to spending $19,000 out of the Sheriff's Office budget to buy two 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. The vehicles are needed, Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson said, for prisoner transport.