COUNCIL PROPOSES CITY FEE HIKES; VOTERS TO ALSO DECIDE RESTAURANT TAX EXPANSION

An expanded hotel-motel-restaurant tax and 13 proposed fee increases on everything from cat and dog licenses to sewer hookup fees will go before Cape Girardeau voters in April.

The City Council approved placing all those items on the ballot for the April 7 municipal election at a meeting Monday night.

A proposal for a vote on the hotel-motel-restaurant tax, which would make bed-and-breakfast establishments eligible for collecting the city's 3 percent hotel-motel tax and would require convenience stores and supermarkets to collect the 1 percent restaurant tax on some items, was approved on a 5-1 vote.

Mayor Al Spradling III cast the sole dissenting vote. Spradling's amendment of the definition of restaurant to clarify that foods intended for immediate consumption be taxed was approved unanimously.

Another proposed amendment by Spradling to add a definition for caterer that would have required them to pay the restaurant tax but not be subject to health inspections failed on a 3-3 tie.

Under the proposed ordinance, caterers would have to get restaurant licenses that would require them to have health inspections. Spradling argued that requirement will be difficult to enforce.

Representatives from Schnucks, Storey's Food Giant and Wal-Mart Supercenter attended the meeting to question how the restaurant tax will be applied.

Dennis Marchi, Schnucks store manager, said it will be difficult for the supermarkets to know which items will be eligible for the 1 percent tax and which will not.

Under the proposed ordinance, supermarkets, convenience stores and other establishments will have to collect the restaurant tax on items that could be purchased for immediate consumption at traditional restaurants.

Randy Kluge, a member of the Convention and Visitors Bureau advisory commission, said the city needs to concentrate on "commonsense enforcement" of the expanded tax. He suggested supermarkets use the same guidelines for the restaurant tax that are now in place to determine what items can be purchased with food stamps.

The advisory commission has been working on the tax for several months since it was discovered that some restaurants were not collecting it and that it was not being equitably enforced.

Several increases in user fees were also approved for placement on the April ballot. The fees cover everything from subdivision plat reviews to dog and cat licenses to admission fees for the Municipal Golf Course and swimming pools.

Spradling and City Manager Michael Miller said the increases were needed to bring fees in line with actual expenses for the services.

"There hasn't been any increase in these fees for a number of years, and we've fallen behind," Miller said in the council's study session prior to the regular meeting.

He said some of the city's fees had "gotten way out of whack" with actual costs for services. "These aren't things where the increases happened over night," Miller added.

Spradling pointed to increasing costs for labor and supplies on the city's part. In some cases, he said, the fees charged did not cover the actual costs of the services rendered, and the city picked up the difference.

"Most of these are user fees, paid by the person who in fact uses the golf course or the parks and recreation. They are in fact being affected," he said. "I hope people would understand why it's necessary so we can keep the service and quality of what's being offered at a high level."

Such increases are "inevitable at some time," Spradling said. "There's a price for all this stuff. Unfortunately we do have increased costs, whether it be labor costs or what have you. Fees do sometimes have to go up, and they haven't for a long time."

Under the city charter, any fee increase of more than 5 percent must be approved by voters.

Councilman Richard "Butch" Eggimann cast the sole dissenting vote on two proposed fees increases, saying the increases were "too big a jump." Eggimann voted against increasing subdivision review fees from a $25 minimum to a $90 minimum. He also voted against establishing two new fees for floodplain and floodway development permits.

Eggimann suggested amending seasonal pass fees for individual seniors using the Municipal Golf Course. The original proposal called for increasing the pass fee for individuals 60 and older from $187 to $275.

Eggimann originally suggested making the increased fee $210, but agreed to a suggestion from Spradling to increase the season pass fee for individual seniors by $38 -- the same amount all the other golf course passes were increased by. The amendment was approved.

PROPOSED FEE INCREASES

Cape Girardeau voters will decide these fees April 7:

Fee From To

Dog, cat license $1 $15 for unaltered animals

$3 for spayed/neutered animals

Seniors would pay $1 to license

spayed/neutered pets and $5 for

unaltered pets.

Private security

license $10 $25

Rezoning, special use

pemit application $25 $50

Board of Adjustment

appeal publication $25 $50

Fill, grading permits none $5

Floodplain development none $25

Floodway development none $50

Haunted Hall of Horror $3 $4

Aquatic coupon books

Adults $40 no change

Seniors $30 $35

Child $20 $30

Pools admission

Adults $2 no change

Children $1 $1.50

Seniors $1.50 $1.75

Children 2 and under free no change

Golf course fees

Greens fee (weekday) $8 $9

Greens fee (weekend) $10.20 $11

Pull cart rental $1.65 $2

Club rental $3.40 $5

Private cart $5.65 $7

Seasonal pass fees

Individual $312 $350

Family $437 $475

Senior individual $187 $275

Senior family $312 $350