SCOTT CITY PROPOSES HALF-CENT SALES TAX FOR STREETS

SCOTT CITY -- Voters in Scott City will decide Tuesday whether or not to pass a half-cent sales tax that would fund street repairs and improvements.

City officials hope voters will turn out for the election, even though no races exist for four seats on the City Council.

"I don't anticipate a heavy turnout," said Mayor Shirley Young. "But I hope there will be people who care enough about the issue that they will come out and vote."

The tax measure marks the first time city officials have asked voters to approve a measure that would specifically pay for repairs and improvements to city streets. The five-year proposed tax would generate about $100,000 per year, and would bring the city's sales tax rate to 6.225 percent.

Young said many city streets are badly in need of repair.

"When we lost federal revenue sharing in the early 1980s, we lost $50,000 a year of money we used specifically for street repairs," she said. "Once (the streets) get in the shape they are now, even $50,000 isn't enough to bring them back."

The city currently has $20,000 budgeted per year for street repairs. But the money hasn't been enough to keep the streets in good shape.

Young said that no major street work has been done in the city since 1989.

"Of course, if we didn't feel like we needed it, we would not be asking for it," she said.

The tax would expire in five years. At that time, the city might seek voter approval of a quarter-cent or an eighth-cent sales tax for continued funding of street maintenance, Young said.

Some residents have expressed opposition to the tax increase. But Young said she feels it's because they think it will fund other city projects and not be restricted to street improvements.

"Once they realize that, according to the way the proposal is written, (the city) has to spend it on street repairs," she said, "they seem to be in favor of it. And let me put their minds at ease, it's not going to pay for anything else."

Residents have stayed away from two public question-and-answer sessions held by the City Council. Another session will be held Monday at City Hall from 7 to 8 p.m.

"I really encourage people to ask questions if they don't understand it," Young said. "If they still want to vote against it, they have at least checked it out."

A list of all city streets and their present condition has been complied by the city's Public Works Department. If the measure is approved, the city will begin scheduling street repairs.

If approved, the tax would go into effect in July, and city residents would begin to see repairs soon afterward, Young said.

Brenda Moyers, who is running unopposed for the Ward One seat on the City Council, said she is in favor of the tax.

"It would mean that for every $10 spent in our town, 5 cents will go for street repair," she said. "And as the mayor has said, it is a fair tax. People who spend money in our town are obviously driving on our city streets."

Young said the city's high number of renters makes a property tax unfair. "The sales tax doesn't target just the property owners," she said. "And people who have less money to spend will pay less for the streets than people who have more to spend."