SCOTT COUNTY: HIKE IN SALES TAX ON APRIL 1 BALLOT

BENTON -- The days of running Scott County's government at a deficit and drawing money from reserves are coming to an end, County Commissioner Bob Kielhofner said.

"We have gotten by. We have not spent in a wild-sailor's fashion. But we have just got to catch up," Kielhofner said.

That is why Kielhofner and the Scott County Commission are asking voters to approve a one-quarter-cent sales tax April 1.

Kielhofner said salaries for county employees have not been competitive with those of city workers in the area. That has lost the county a number of workers over the years and made it difficult to hire the employees the county want, he said.

In 1996, commissioners approved additional spending to repair 12 bridges deemed unsafe by the state and other road work, even though that meant running at a $289,074 deficit. In 1997, the commission approved additional spending for road work, the sheriff's department and the county prosecuting attorney's office, which caused a $431,516 deficit.

Whenever the county's expenses are more than its revenue, Kielhofner said, the additional money has to come from a reserve fund.

"We're not talking about a $3 million reserve," he said, adding the county has about $500,000 in reserves, which are rapidly being depleted.

The proposed quarter-cent sales tax would bring in about $700,000 a year. The county currently collects about $700,000 a year from a one-half-cent sales tax it has had in place since 1979.

The proposed tax revenue is marked for general expenses and would, if approved, go initially to restore the county's reserve fund. Kielhofner said the tax is going to have a hard time passing because the county is asking for the additional revenue without telling the voters specifically where the money would go.

He said the proposal would cost consumers 25 cents for every $100 they spend. The total sales tax the county would claim if this measure passes would be less than half of what neighboring Mississippi County collects, Kielhofner said.

Scott County has been unable to compete with New Madrid and Cape Girardeau counties in luring shoppers. As expenses have climbed over the years the county's revenue has remained nearly the same.

"Even Sikeston, and I have to congratulate Sikeston on its development, but all of that development is across the New Madrid County line," Kielhofner said.

The additional spending by the county commission the last two years has allowed the sheriff to hire additional deputies, hire a bailiff, repair 17 bridges in the county that were deemed unsafe in 1996 and 1997 by the state, and allowed for a full-time county prosecuting attorney and a full-time assistant.

Kielhofner said a quarter-cent sales tax designated for the sheriff's department and a one-half-cent sales tax for a new jail were defeated by voters in 1995.

Commissioner Walter Bizzell said Sikeston's development has been to the south into New Madrid County because of available land. He said the trend started about five years ago when Wal-Mart relocated to the south.

"With a business like Wal-Mart out there, people will move where the traffic is going," Bizzell said.

He said a proposed industrial park north of Sikeston may begin to bring some revenue and growth to Scott County.

"We're not growing at all in our sales tax right now," Bizzell said. "We've still got roads and bridges, payroll and we have to maintain the sheriff's department and we don't have the funds to do this anymore."