COUNTY MAY FACE LEANER BUDGET NEXT YEAR

JACKSON - A combination of a flat sales tax and declining interest income will make 1992 a bleak budget year for Cape Girardeau County, Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep warned.

Huckstep has been hinting for several months that Cape County's financial situation was getting tight, but now the hard evidence is there to back up his concerns. With one month to go, Cape Girardeau County's sales tax receipts for 1991 are running only around $7,000 ahead of last year, and a drop in interest rates will leave the county with about $300,000 less in income this year than in 1990.

However, the full impact of the 3 percent reduction in interest to the county will not be felt until next year because the county's new depository bid did not take effect until June.

"No matter what we get in sales tax in December, there is no doubt that for 1991 there will be no growth," said Huckstep. "We're just optimistic we won't have any great loss. It's just totally flat."

Cape County's final sales tax check for 1991 will be in by mid-December, about the time the commission will be finalizing its budget for 1992.

"The flat sales tax and lost interest has put us in a difficult situation," said Huckstep. "We've always tried to spend our money wisely, but now we have to be even more careful. Times are tough."

This year's check for November was $134,945.43, which is only up slightly from the $130,752.39 received last year in November.

For the first 11 months of the year, total sales tax revenue for the county has been $2,702,889, compared to $2,694,921 for the same time in 1990, and $2,562,370 in 1989.

Last year in December the county's sales tax receipts were $364,264, which was just about $1,700 less than December of the previous year. Huckstep said he sees no way the December check will be large enough to bring much of an increase over total receipts for 1990 of $3,059,186.

The 1991 sales tax was a record for Cape County since it began collecting the half-cent 11 years ago. However, this will be the smallest increase over a previous year since the tax was implemented.

Huckstep said the commission prepared its budget for this year on the basis of zero growth but had actually hoped for a growth of 4-6 percent.

Asked what the flat sales tax means, Huckstep said, "I would say the general state of the economy is bad." He added that the county commission has no choice but to prepare a budget that is balanced, but that action will make it a lean budget year.

"I don't believe John Q. Public is interested in any more taxation, so we might as well make up our minds to live within our means," said Huckstep.