CIVIC LEADER: CITY TIGHTEN BELT, SCALE DOWN TAX PLAN

Cape Girardeau should tighten its budget belt and scale back a proposed sales tax to fund transportation projects, one civic leader said.

Planning and Zoning Commission member Harry Rediger said it is important to involve the business community in any transportation tax proposal.

Rediger, who also serves on the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's surface transportation committee, said the chamber needs to be involved in the tax plan.

Rediger offered his advice at Tuesday night's city council meeting and elaborated on the matter in an interview Wednesday.

Mayor Al Spradling III has proposed that the council submit a half-cent sales tax measure to the voters.

The proposed tax would be in effect for 10 years and generate $35.8 million. The money would be earmarked solely for streets and other transportation projects.

Rediger said he personally thinks the city needs and can support such a tax, but "the problem is we have got to have one that can get passed."

Voters narrowly rejected such a sales tax in 1986 and again in 1987.

Rediger said the city council needs to be up front with the voters and identify a specific list of projects that would be funded by the tax.

It would be better to seek an eighth-cent or quarter-cent sales tax for five years to fund a detailed list of projects, rather than a larger tax for 10 years that would fund unspecified projects, he said.

Then if the city had other projects on the drawing board, it could ask voters to extend the tax.

But Spradling argued it would be unwise for the council to commit itself to a detailed list of projects.

"I would hate to lock myself in today to certain projects when those needs might change," he said.

The city, however, can explain in general terms what the money would go toward, Spradling added.

"You don't want to mislead them," he said. "You want them to understand it is going to be used for street projects, sidewalk projects, new streets, old streets, renovating streets. It may be used at the airport."

Twelve road projects, totaling an estimated $12.8 million, already are on the city's drawing board.

Rediger said it would be unwise for the city to seek $35.8 million in sales tax revenue if it has identified only $12.8 million worth of projects.

He suggested city officials trim the budget and use the savings to help fund various street projects.

"The voters of today want less government, not more government," Rediger said.

The cost savings might be nominal but could help garner public support for a transportation sales tax, he added.

"It wouldn't have to be that big a percentage, just a nominal thing that I think would show good faith toward the project from the city's standpoint," Rediger said.

But Spradling questioned where the budget could be cut. Many of the city's costs are from state and federal mandates, he said.

"There isn't really much we can slash to make a dramatic change in government in terms of cutting money out," he said.