Scott County facing cuts in law enforcement, commissioner says

BENTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Commission hasn't yet decided whether to place the extension of the county's half-cent sales tax for law enforcement on a future ballot, but Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said the issue will be discussed extensively during the coming weeks.

But Burger said if the tax isn't extended before it expires on Sept. 30, 2008, cuts will need to be made in law enforcement.

"If we don't continue with sales tax, we're $1.6 million short on a $3.5 million budget," Burger said Thursday. "If we can't maintain that level of funding, there will have to be cuts."

The extension was defeated 1,923 to 1,658 in Tuesday's election. The county commission had sought the extension to continue funding law enforcement and to free up revenue for infrastructure improvements and other uses. In 2000 voters passed the tax to pay for construction and staffing of a new jail.

Sikeston precincts were key to defeating the tax. When coupled with Miner, Sikeston precincts voted against the tax at a rate of about 69 percent. One week before the election, the Sikeston City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the tax extension, citing the city's desire to put its own law enforcement sales tax on an upcoming ballot.

Sikeston police chief Drew Juden was key in urging the council to take a stand, telling council members, "I think it's important that we work to defeat this tax, then put ours on the ballot," according to a report published in the Standard Democrat.

Juden was not available Thursday to comment on the outcome of the election.

The vote was split sharply along north-south lines, with voters in Benton, Chaffee, Scott City and Oran voting for the tax at a rate of about 60 percent collectively.

One idea that has been discussed is a revenue-sharing deal between the county and municipalities. Sikeston Mayor Mike Marshall visited the county commission Thursday to extend an olive branch after his city defeated a commission-endorsed ballot measure. During the meeting Marshall mentioned the revenue-sharing agreement.

"I talked to them and said I wanted to try to bring the county together," Marshall said Thursday of his comments during the meeting. "If it is divided, I want to work with the county commission to close that divide."

Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn, who represents Sikeston and Miner, supports exploring a revenue-sharing arrangement. If the tax is put on the ballot again, the commission should make sure to clearly communicate its stance to communities and listen to any feedback they might have, he said.

Despite the outcome of the vote, commissioners are glad to see the vote was as close as it was.

Commissioner Ron McCormick, who represents the northern part of the county, said he expected his constituents to support the tax, as they did, but was disappointed by the 14.84 percent turnout, which County Clerk Rita Milam said is in the normal range for a municipal election.

The yes vote in the northern part of the county was in part boosted by large turnout in Chaffee, where 29 percent of registered voters went to the polls, spurred by a four-way race for the city's open mayor position. Those voters said yes to the extension, 417 to 265. Chaffee voters also elected the city's first female mayor, Loretta Mohorc, since Sally Wehmeyer last held the position in 1975.

msanders@semissourian.com

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