County officials report on uses of Prop 1 tax funds at First Friday Coffee

Cape Girardeau County officials told business leaders Friday that they've delivered what they promised with revenue from the Proposition 1 sales tax.

Sheriff John Jordan and Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said funds from Proposition 1 are helping pave more county roads and helping the county sheriff's department retain employees during a presentation at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center.

Since the Proposition 1 sales tax was adopted in 2006, Jones said the county has spent $6.25 million on its road paving program. It has paved 25 miles of new asphalt roads, 11 miles of chip-and-seal surfaced roads. Asphalt overlays were done on 10 miles of roads, Jones said.

This year, instead of hiring a contractor to do the paving work, county highway workers paved roads themselves, saving $50,000 to $70,000, Jones said.

"Our employees have learned a new skill, they have worked well together, and we will proceed to use them in the future," he said.

At the time Proposition 1 passed, the sheriff's department promised to add 10 new employees to improve its service in Cape Girardeau County. Since 2007, the department has added five new patrol deputies, two communications officers, one full-time animal control officer and two court deputies, Jordan said. The additional funds from Proposition 1 revenue allowed the sheriff's department to pay more competitive wages and reduce its employee turnover.

"Prop 1 allowed us to recruit, and retain some of the brightest officers coming into the market," Jordan said.

In 2006, the department had a turnover rate of 26 percent, twice as high as most law enforcement agencies, Jordan said.

Now it's about 9 percent, with most of the turnover happening with workers the county jail, he said.

"The result is that we now have tenured officers making the decisions for the county's public safety," Jordan said.

The sheriff's department has also put back 15 percent its Proposition 1 revenue into a reserve budget fund for long-term law enforcement needs.

The sheriff's department has been allocated $4.7 million since the tax took effect in 2007, however, it's spent only $3.5 million and surrendered the difference back to the county for its road paving program.

The Proposition 1 sales tax replaced previous county road and bridge property taxes. Since 2007 a total of $11.8 million in Proposition 1 sales tax revenue has been distributed to special road districts and municipalities within the county.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 1333 North Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO