Rising tax issue may not make ballot in November

CAPE REVENUE

By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

Voters may not be asked to approve a sales tax increase in November after all.

The Cape Girardeau City Council in May moved not to follow a city revenue team's recommendation to put a 3/4-cent sales tax increase on the August ballot, saying that date would be too soon to both convince voters of the city's needs and prove that officials have done all they can to cut costs.

And now, depending on the amount of time it will take to assemble a community-driven task force and then how long it will take for that group to educate residents and come up with a conclusion, the issue may not reach the November ballot either.

After Aug. 6, the next election is Nov. 5, but council members are increasingly doubtful that task force actions can be accomplished in time. The council will have to make a decision by Aug. 27, the deadline for placing an item on the ballot.

The revenue team's recommendation would add $6 million to the budget. Because revenue has been lower than expected, the city has spent more than it has earned the last three years. The council seems to be in agreement that a revenue increase is needed. But when to vote?

"It will not be in November," councilman Matt Hopkins said.

Hopkins and councilman Charlie Herbst both said they were under the impression that the rest of the council thought November was too early, though councilwoman Evelyn Boardman said Monday evening after the council's meeting that Hopkins' comment was the first she had heard of the issue not being on the November ballot.

"Boy, that hit me from way out in left field," Boardman said Tuesday. "I thought we had talked about November. It may not be possible in November, and that's OK, but I am for putting it on the ballot as soon as possible."

Mayor Jay Knudtson said he didn't know when or if the vote would take place.

Much of the timing will depend on the findings of a 12- to 15-member task force that is being assembled, Knudtson said. The task force will consist of non-governmental residents. One co-chairman, Melvin Gateley, has already been appointed by Knudtson. Gateley was Knudtson's opponent in the mayoral race.

Educational campaign

The task force is the first step of an educational campaign.

"Creating this group goes a long way to building credibility with the citizens to let them know that this is not just a small group making this decision," Knudtson said.

The council is still in the brainstorming stage of deciding how the task force will be selected. One idea is for each council member to select two people in his or her ward. Then this core group of 12 to 15 will disperse throughout the city to share information and seek viewpoints from many other residents.

The school district used a similar process to convince voters to a pass bond issue to build the new high school.

Herbst was a member of that task force.

"It had cross section of people from all walks of life, good representation from all over the city," he said.

The idea sounded like a good one to Karen Roberts, a fairly new Cape Girardeau resident. She moved to the area in January and said was not aware of the financial problems the city has experienced in recent years.

"The more people who are involved, the more ideas you get," she said. "And the task force would be less biased. What you need is more diversity of views."

As far as coming up with a selection process, Hopkins said he hopes to have a plan laid out over the next two council meetings.

"We're not going to hire an outside consulting firm," Hopkins said. "I feel strongly that in the city of Cape Girardeau there are intelligent people who can do this right here. I think we need to get more people's input than the council and the staff."

Three flat years

All this comes after a city revenue team, consisting of city employees who were not department heads, recommended that the council place a 1/4-cent fire tax and a 1/2-cent parks and stormwater tax on the ballot.

The city is running behind financially after three years of flat sales tax growth. Monday night, the council voted to approve the fiscal 2002-03 budget based on a 3 percent sales tax growth. Should tax growth remain flat, the city would spend about $250,000 more than it would earn and deplete reserves to an uncomfortable level.

City officials say they've cut costs to the bare minimum.

Knudtson is confident that the task force will come to the same conclusion that he did -- that some sort of revenue boost is needed. On the other hand, the body might suggest something different than the revenue team.

"They might say we don't need a sales tax," he said. "There might be a variation of a sales tax, a hybrid of sales tax and property tax or they might recommend to do nothing. This is not merely an exercise to go through the motions. This group will play a vital role. It will be an autonomous group that will come to its own conclusions."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127