MILLER OUTLINES BALLOT ISSUES

The 13 city fee increases to be proposed to voters April 7 would raise an additional $63,000 in annual revenue, City Manager Michael Miller told the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee Friday.

Voters also will decide a proposed change to the City Chater.

The city can't increase user fees, taxes, assessments or licenses more than 5 percent any fiscal year without voter authorization, Miller told the group at the Show Me Center.

"The revenue fees from a number of increases are relatively small compared to other revenue sources," said Miller.

With the exception of license fees for dogs and cats, the purpose of the increases is to cover costs of special services, said Miller.

"The costs of some services have grown more than the amounts of the fees," he said. "Some fees are being sought for services where no fee previously has been provided."

Most of additional $63,000 in annual revenue -- $31,950 -- would come from increases in Municipal Golf Course fees. Among other additional amounts: animal-control fees, $5,500; development fees, $5.775; and swimming pool fees, $12,600.

The charter change proposes to expand the city motel-hotel-restaurant tax to more businesses. The changes are a matter of fairness, said Miller.

"The current tax exempts businesses which are not solely or chiefly in restaurant sales, such as deli foods sold in convenience and grocery stores," said Miller. "Also exempted are hotels and motels with less than eight rooms."

The tax would extend to those exempted operations and bed-and-breakfast establishments.

Expansion of the tax would provide another $45,000 in annual revenue. Current annual revenue from the tax is $900,000.

The tax originally was levied to pay off construction of the Show Me Center and fund operations of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. It also helps pay for construction of the Shawnee Park Sports Complex and Osage Community Centre.