County use tax revenue on target; sales tax revenue grows

Cape Girardeau County's use tax could generate at least $806,000 annually based on collections so far, county officials say.

Voters narrowly approved a 1 percent use tax in April to fund construction of a new courthouse and future capital improvements.

Cape County Treasurer Roger Hudson said the county has received just over $221,000 in use-tax revenue since September, the first month for which the county received money from the newly implemented tax.

But Hudson explained the initial check was less than $20,000 and likely didn't reflect a full month of tax collection. The use tax generated $49,000 in October, nearly $90,000 in November and $62,000 this month.

Excluding the first check, Hudson said the county is receiving an average of $67,000 a month from the tax.

But he said the revenue stream could vary, particularly if there are major construction projects locally that require purchases of out-of-state materials.

"A major construction project could bump that up," he said.

Before the April election, county officials estimated the use tax could generate about $1 million annually.

Cape County Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said the county continues to place the tax money in a special fund. None of the money will be spent on general county operations, he said. Herbst said the commission will use the tax money to pay for bonds to cover the cost of building a new courthouse.

But Herbst said the commission will have to wait to see how much tax money is generated annually before moving ahead with bond financing.

"We don't know our revenue stream," he said.

A half-cent general sales tax funds the bulk of county operations. The sales tax brought in more than $7.24 million this calendar year, which was 2.96 percent growth over last year, Hudson said.

The county received $208,000 more this calendar year than a year ago. December's check alone totaled $668,294.

Some of the tax revenue reflects Christmas shopping, the treasurer said.

The county's Prop One sales tax, approved by voters in 2006, brought in another $7.2 million in 2015.

The money collected from that half-cent tax helped pave county roads and provide funding for the sheriff's department.

The sales-tax revenue allowed the county to eliminate its property tax for roads and bridges.

Hudson said about 56 percent of the tax money is distributed to the Cape Special Road District, which also eliminated its property-tax levy, and municipalities.

County officials have kept their promise to give Jackson and other incorporated towns a share of the sales-tax revenue equal to the amount state law required the county to give those towns out of the property tax.

"The tax makes everybody whole," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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