Outlining issue of fire sales tax

Cape Girardeau voters rejected a tax-and-fee package little more than a year ago. Now they're being asked to vote again -- this time on a quarter-cent fire sales tax measure.

City officials say the measure -- which will be voted on in a special election on June 8 -- is less confusing than the April 2003 tax package, focusing solely on meeting police and fire department needs and clearly spelling out how the sales tax money will be spent.

With the election little more than two weeks away, city officials still face questions from city residents about the tax measure. With that in mind, the Southeast Missourian asks questions and provides answers about the fire tax issue.

Q: What is the tax proposal?

A: The tax measure is a quarter-cent sales tax that would go to pay for fire department needs, including a new fire station on North Sprigg Street to replace the aging Emerald Street station. It also would free up general revenue for police department needs, including higher salaries to better retain and recruit police officers in response to a manpower shortage.

Q: How much money would the tax generate?

A: An estimated $2 million annually or $20 million over the next 10 years. Half the tax would fund capital projects for the police and fire departments. The other half would be earmarked to pay some of the operating expenses for the two departments.

Q: When would the tax expire?

A: Half of the tax would expire after 10 years. The other half -- an eighth of a cent -- would be a permanent tax that would continue to fund public safety operations.

Q: What's the impact of the tax on my pocketbook?

A: The tax would amount to 25 cents on every $100 purchase. City officials estimate the annual tax burden from the new tax at $44 per household.

Q: How much am I paying right now in total sales taxes?

A: Counting city, county and state rates, shoppers are paying $6.725 on every $100 purchase. But city government -- which currently has general fund, sewer, water and transportation sales taxes -- receives only $2 of the total sales tax on every $100 purchase. If voters approve the fire sales tax, the total sales tax would increase to $6.975 on a $100 purchase. Of that total tax, $2.25 charged on every $100 purchase would go to the city.

Q: When would the city start collecting the tax if voters approve it?

A: The tax would start being paid at the stores on Oct. 1. Those tax payments go to the Missouri Department of Revenue, which distributes the money back to local governments. As a result, city officials predict the city won't receive any money from the tax until December.

Q: Will the city issue bonds for fire and police improvements?

A: Yes. The sales tax money would be used to retire the bonds.

Q: How do we know the tax money would be spent solely on public safety needs?

A: The money will go into a trust fund and legally only can be spent for the police and fire departments.

Q: Why does the ballot language only stipulate funding for the fire department?

A: State law allows for a quarter-cent sales tax for fire departments. But the added tax revenue also will free up money in the general fund that can be spent on the police department.

Q: Why does the city need to replace the Emerald Street fire station?

A: The station was built in 1951 and is the oldest of the city's four fire stations. Today's larger fire trucks won't fit in the building. The station also is on a narrow residential street and is not properly located to serve homes and businesses on the city's growing north side.

Q: Has the city tried to cut costs and increase user fees?

A: Yes. The city council has approved a list of spending cuts, fund transfers and user-fee increases totaling $534,246 for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

Q: Why does the city need a new ladder truck?

A: The fire department's only ladder truck is 18 years old and is often down for repairs. In such situations, the city has to request help from Sikeston -- 30 miles away -- which has a ladder truck.

Q: Why does the city need a new Jaws of Life rescue tool to extricate people from wrecked vehicles?

A: The current tool was purchased in 1986 and is outdated. It recently failed to operate during a rescue effort, delaying removal of an injured person from a vehicle.

Q: Why does the city need to boost police pay?

A: Cape Girardeau is finding it difficult to recruit and retain officers because many similar-sized cities pay more. A recent survey found that Cape Girardeau officers are paid 26 percent less than police officers in many comparable communities, including Poplar Bluff and Jefferson City, Mo., Carbondale, Ill., and Paducah, Ky. The starting annual salary for a Cape Girardeau police officer is $24,044.

Q: Does the city have a shortage of police officers?

A: Yes. The department has three vacancies. Other positions are unfilled as a result of such things as training and military leave.

Q: When did the fire department start responding to medical calls, and why do they continue to do so if money is so tight?

A: The city began a first-responder program in May 1993 in an effort to help save lives. Firefighters are almost always the first on the scene and first to dispense medical care. With four stations, firefighters can respond faster in many cases than the private ambulance service. It's also an efficient use of firefighters. Personnel costs make up the bulk of the department's expenses. Those expenses would exist whether firefighters are in the station houses, responding to medical emergencies or fighting fires.

Q: Why does the city need four fire stations?

A: It allows quicker, more efficient and effective response to emergencies.

Q: Will passage of this tax alleviate some of the overcrowding at the police station?

A: Yes. The tax would allow the city to remodel an older house owned by the city and located behind the police station. The house would provide office and storage space. In addition, space would be freed up in the police station because a new dispatching center would be placed in the new fire station, and the dispatchers would be relocated to the new fire station.

Q: If the economy is improving, why do we need another tax?

A: Even a growing economy won't provide enough money to meet the needs of the police and fire departments, city officials say.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123