County discusses 'errors' in tax order

On Thursday, Cape Girardeau County commissioners and their attorney discussed the "reversible errors" that might save them from having to pay the city of Jackson almost $472,000 in a tax dispute.

After the conference call, which was held in closed session, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said the commission did not take a vote to appeal the ruling by Associate Circuit Judge Byron Luber of Caruthersville, Mo., with 1st District Commissioner Larry Bock absent. However, comments from the two commissioners attending Thursday's meeting suggest the county is headed in that direction.

"This isn't us being sore losers, like we're crying because we lost," Jones said. "We feel like errors have been made."

A writ of mandamus ordered by Luber tells the county to fork over $471,904 in road and bridge tax money that it has collected since 1997, when the county became a first-class county. Since then, according to Luber and the state's attorney general in an opinion issued in 2003, the county should have spent 25 percent of the road and bridge funds it collected from the city of Jackson on roads and bridges inside the city limits of Jackson.

Jones said the commission's attorney, William McCullah of Forsyth, Mo., is in the process of writing a list of "reversible errors" regarding the judge's ruling.

The commission will likely take a vote on filing an appeal Monday, when Bock returns.

Jones and 2nd District Commissioner Joe Gambill feel like the county is on the right side of the law, but they have issues beyond the central issue of whether the county owes Jackson the tax money.

Jones said he believes the judge "completely ignored the law" when it comes to the statute of limitations. Jones said, at worst, the county's penalty should only date back five years, which would amount to roughly $120,000 less than what the judge ordered.

Beyond that, Jones claims the numbers provided by Jackson are inaccurate, although the county did not protest the figures offered in court in June.

The $471,904 judgment was based on assessed valuation figures of property within the city limits of Jackson that were provided to the city by the county. Jackson collects its municipal property taxes based on assessments by the county.

Jones said Jackson included about 100 parcels along Interstate 55 and Old Orchard Road in its own assessment figures. He said the parcels actually belong in the Cape Special Road District.

"The facts are that the totals are in error,"Jones said.

Jackson assistant city administrator Larry Koenig said even with those numbers factored in, it would have little difference on the overall total.

"This is the first I heard there was a question about out numbers," said Jackson city attorney Tom Ludwig. Ludwig said the numbers were a part of the city's original petition and were testified to be accurate by county Clerk Rodney Miller at the court hearing on June 29.

Jones said he also believes there are other legal issues at stake, such as the county's budget law. Jones said counties work on a zero-based budgeting system as set up by the state constitution. Zero-based budgeting means that all expenditures, every year, must be justified before being approved. He said the judge's ruling might be in conflict with the budgeting law.

Jones said the county is checking into whether or not it will be legally obligated to set up Jackson's road and bridge fund by Sept. 15 as set by the judge, even if the county decides to appeal.

He said the county will probably have to set up the account, but the county won't give the money away until the issue is legally settled.

County Auditor David Ludwig said the money will come out of a contingency fund. The county will cash in some certificates of deposit that are coming due. Ludwig said the county won't lose any penalty fees.

Gambill said more is at stake here than a commission fighting over tax dollars.

"If Jackson prevails, the real losers are not the county, but the out-county residents who want their roads paved," he said. "That's about five miles of road that won't be paved and about a mile per year after that. I know the county citizens will be real happy about that."

During the course of the public meeting, the commissioners vented some of their feelings by joking that if came down to serving time in jail, they would designate the absent commissioner, Bock, to do time on behalf of the three-member commission.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635