COUNCIL APPROVES DISCLOSURE MEASURE

City officials in Cape Girardeau who do business with the city will have to file financial disclosure statements next year, but one city councilman said the new state disclosure law is ineffective.

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night approved first reading of a law that requires financial disclosure statements for councilmen and other city officials who have interests in businesses that contract with the city. The law was passed in response to a state ethics law that goes into effect next year.

Councilman Hugh White said the city ordinance is weak and does little to deter conflicts of interest.

"I fail to see how this does anything to keep people from unscrupulous public service," White said. "It's much ado about nothing."

Council member Mary Wulfers said the City Charter already requires the financial disclosures.

"This does not preclude what's in our charter," Wulfers said. "If we have a conflict of interest, it's still our duty to disclose that to the rest of the council."

City Attorney Warren Wells agreed. He said the new disclosure law was an addition to the City Charter.

The new law requires disclosure of certain financial information relating to transactions with the city as well as certain disclosures relating to assets and income. The assets and income requirements cover council members as well as the city manager, the city's chief purchasing officer and the city attorney.

In other business, the council approved a resolution authorizing the city's application for a $150,000 state grant to fund renovation of about 20 east-side rental units.

The city plans to assist eligible rental property owners who have primarily low-income tenants with rehabilitation of their property. The area covered by the Rental Rehabilitation Grant Program is bounded by Bertling Street to the north, Minnesota to the west, Hackberry to the south and the Mississippi River to the east.

Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink said the grant program is similar to the Community Development Block Grant Program started in the College and Jefferson Street area.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said the program is part of the city's plans to address low-income housing needs.

"About a year ago we held a meeting where we discussed public housing and housing assistance," Fischer said. "This is another step the staff feels can be done through private enterprise."

Stoverink said property owners are required to provide a 50 percent match for any grant funds that are used to rehabilitate their rental units.

Also at Monday's meeting, Lawrence Godfrey, 1732 Rampart, told the council that he believed its passage of a property tax increase for the downtown business district violated the state's Hancock Amendment, which requires tax increases to first be submitted to the voters.

He said the violation requires city council members to forfeit their office.

Wells said the property tax levy approved by the council does not impose any new taxes, but merely sets the existing tax rate for next year. He said he didn't think the city was in violation of the Hancock Amendment.

Fischer said that if Godfrey's claim was true, every city in Missouri would be in violation of the law. He also said that the reason the downtown business district tax increased was because assessed valuation in the area decreased. He said voters in the special district set the tax rate in a special election years ago.

Council member David Barklage said he didn't believe the Hancock Amendment applies to fee increases imposed by the city to cover increased cost of services.

"It would be impractical for cities every year to hold an election just to raise fees for the cost of service that has been passed on to the city," he said. "We have simply passed on those minor cost increases we've incurred for providing existing service.

"I respect your opinion," he told Godfrey, "but I don't agree with it."

The council approved an ordinance that will allow for the development of the southward extension of Minnesota Avenue from an intersection with the eastward extension of Rust Avenue to Southern Expressway, formerly Route 74.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 1992, and would provide access to the southern end of Shawnee Park and for industrial development in the area between Kingshighway and Southern Expressway.