Chamber votes for Cape fire sales tax

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce board of directors gave unanimous support to the city's fire sales tax measure on Tuesday and authorized spending $1,000 to help campaign for its passage in a June 8 special election.

The money will be given to the Committee to Vote Yes for the Fire Sales Tax, a private group headed by retired Cape Girardeau businessman Harry Rediger.

The proposed fire sales tax would raise about $2 million annually to fund police and fire department improvements, including a new fire station and expansion of the police station.

Half of the money would go for capital expenditures over the next 10 years. The other half would go to operational expenses.

Half of the tax would expire after 10 years. The other eighth of a cent would be a permanent tax that would be earmarked for public safety operational expenses, city officials said.

Support for the tax issue was unanimous on the chamber of commerce's board, which voted 19-0. John Mehner, chamber president, said board members are convinced that "this is a necessary tax" to fund the city's fire and police departments.

The recently organized committee hopes to raise and spend $25,000 to campaign for passage of the tax, Rediger said.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said the committee has raised more than $10,000 to pay for campaign brochures and advertisements on radio and television and in the Southeast Missourian newspaper to urge voters to pass the quarter-cent sales tax.

A dozen to 15 people have contributed to the campaign so far, Rediger said. Retired local television weatherman Don McNeely also is involved in the effort.

Jim Riley, who runs the Cape Girardeau advertising agency Red Letter Communications, has been hired to manage the campaign.

The aggressive campaign effort is being left to the private group because the city government can't legally spend tax dollars to urge voters to approve tax measures, the mayor said.

However, the city has paid for and produced its own brochure that will be sent out with city utility bills. The brochure outlines the city's needs and urges people to vote, but doesn't specifically tell them to vote for the tax measure. On the cover of the brochure is a firefighter holding a child, both their faces smudged with soot. The cover reads: "If this were your child ... would you be worried about a sales tax?"

The brochure is being sent out in lieu of the city's monthly newsletter, city manager Doug Leslie said.

Mayor's influence

Rediger said the mayor was instrumental in getting the campaign committee established.

Knudtson said the committee is working to get city residents lined up to vote "yes" in the June election, and he praised the committee's efforts.

"It has been a phenomenal outcry from business leaders and citizens in this community to really take the bull by the horns," the mayor said.

Knudtson was elated by the chamber board's action. He said city officials cut spending in some areas and crafted a tax that is focused on essential public safety services.

"We really tried to learn from our mistakes," the mayor said, referring to the defeat of four city tax and fee measures last year, which included a quarter-cent fire sales tax.

The chamber board supported those measures, too, but recommended those taxes be removed if the economy improved and sales tax revenue grew.

There's no such caveat this time around.

Mehner said board members this time didn't even discuss a possible time limit on the tax.

But part of the reason may be that half of the sales tax is set to expire after 10 years, Mehner said. In addition, the fire sales tax is a "single item" tax, he said.

City officials have detailed how the money will be spent, he said. "They have completely lined up what is going to happen with the money, much like the transportation sales tax," Mehner said.

The transportation sales tax funds specified road improvements.

Under state law, the sales tax is earmarked to fund fire department services. But the added revenue would free up money in the city's general fund that would be used to raise police salaries and make other improvements in city law enforcement.

In addition to the committee's effort, the city is relying on the city manager and the city's police and fire chiefs to help educate city residents about the tax measure.

"We can't afford to lose," Knudtson said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123