City job fair shows fruits of use tax

The City of Cape Girardeau's job fair last week could soon result in numerous filled positions at the municipal level.

"We're very hopeful to start making offers soon," Gina Snyder, the city's human resources director, said.

The June 22 fair was attended by 84 people and resulted in 69 applications on the day. The city had an additional 138 applications for its 40 or so open positions, in the past week. Snyder credited the use tax benefits for the boost in interest.

"I think the increase in the starting pay along with the certification stipend and the experience stipend for some of our positions has the applications in," Snyder said.

The tax passed by voters in November will generate an estimated $2.3 million to the city's general fund which will be used entirely to bolster employee salaries. Base salaries for the city increased 11.7% as of June 25, and have been advertised by the human resources department since early June, when they were made official.

Snyder said there is still a problem with finding qualified candidates for certain positions such as law enforcement or city positions that require a CDL. Even after the wave of applicants is processed and offers are made, the city will likely still have openings in those areas, Snyder said.

At the City Council workshop June 22, Cape Girardeau Police Department assistant chief Adam Glueck said the department had significant problems generating applicants for positions such as dispatchers and jailers. Glueck said at the meeting the jail had 10 vacancies and only 21 applicants dating back to July 2021. Glueck added the department had 15 officer vacancies.

Despite possible hiring problems in specific areas, the human resources director said the fair was a success. Face to face interaction was important, she said, and the fair gave potential applicants an opportunity to dig further into positions to see whether they were interested.