Cape Girardeau trash rate to increase

The Cape Girardeau City Council remained divided at its regular meeting Monday night, approving an 85-cent trash rate increase and failing to agree upon the future of a restaurant tax.

At its previous meeting, the council failed to vote through the trash rate measure after some members expressed concern at not being made aware of the increase early enough to evaluate the situation. Councilman Trent Summers voted against the increase at the previous meeting and stood firm in his opposition Monday night.

He proposed an amendment to the ordinance that would instead use money from the city's innovation fund, which is funded by casino revenue, to pay for the increased truck maintenance costs incurred by the new pickup program. He said the spending could be justified because the "unforeseen expenses" are attributed in large part to the new trucks purchased in 2010, which fall under the category of an innovation.

Councilman Wayne Bowen suggested a change to the proposal and said the city should approve the fee increase, but consider using innovation funds to pay for the increase for the first three months.

"I think that would show that we recognize people weren't given adequate notice about the increase," he said. "We should also consider adding an amendment saying we won't levy fee increases without more advanced notice and allowing people to give feedback to the council about the issue."

Both measures were struck down in a 3-4 vote, with Summers, Bowen and councilwoman Meg Davis in favor and council members Mark Lanzotti, Loretta Schneider and John Voss and Mayor Harry Rediger opposed. Lanzotti said he would never support the use of casino funds for operating costs as it was a "slippery slope."

When it came time to vote on the original ordinance to increase user fees by 85 cents, Bowen said he would approve, but only because it was necessary.

"The council spent months looking at the wastewater plant and even brought in an analyst to find efficiencies to make that $1 decrease," he said, referring to a recently voted on decrease in sewer charges. "It was a very deliberate process. Then, without announcement we have the increase of solid waste fees. It's just difficult not to compare one, which was very deliberate, against the other one, which was pretty much accidental. The fact that my amendment and Mr. Summers' amendment got some support shows there's still concern about it."

The final vote to approve the increase was 5-2, with Bowen, Lanzotti, Voss, Rediger and Schneider in favor and Summers and Davis opposed. The increase will take effect after July 1.

Although there was no vote on the issue, the council spent the majority of its study session discussing the restaurant, fire and hotel/motel tax. The council unanimously agreed to bring before voters the opportunity to renew the 4-cent hotel/motel tax, which funds the operation of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. After much discussion, the council also agreed that the fire tax, set to expire in 2014, should be placed on the ballot for voters, but a decision still could not be reached on the restaurant tax.

It was again Bowen, Davis and Summers against the rest of the council, all saying they would be in favor of letting the restaurant tax expire without bringing the issue before voters.

"We need to determine which taxes have the weakest argument, and right now that's the restaurant tax," Bowen said. "I don't see a clear consensus for its purpose at this point. If a project identifies itself in the future, then we could always bring it back."

Lanzotti was quick to point out that the city had several projects to consider that were "wants," including a possible new sports complex, but also one that was a "need": a new police station.

"To say there's no project is not true," he said. "There is a necessity in a new police station. If the voters agree, then I would have no problem with, after the station is paid for, adding another small project to be funded by the tax or look at casino money to pay for other projects."

Schneider disagreed, stating the restaurant tax had paid for tourism projects in the past, including the Show Me Center and most recently the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus, and it should remain so in the future. At Schneider's suggestion, the council chose before its next meeting to look more closely at the history of the restaurant tax and projects it has funded.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.