SENIOR BOARD: TAX GOVERNING BODY SETS ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

JACKSON - The board appointed to recommend how to distribute about $220,000 collected each year from a tax levy to help fund programs for senior citizens will be holding its organizational meeting Tuesday.

The first item on the agenda of the board when it meets at 6:30 p.m. in the county commission's chambers in Jackson will be to elect a chairman.

The seven-member board was appointed last month by the county commission after voters in April approved a 5-cent property tax levy.

Under the statute that authorized the levy, funds may be provided to organizations in the county that give services to citizens age 60 and over.

Funds cannot be used for buildings or entertainment but must be used for services. During the campaign, proponents of the tax suggested the funds could initially be used to expand delivery of meals and transportation services to rural areas of the county.

Members of the county commission will meet with the board at its first session and someone from the prosecuting attorney's staff will be on hand to discuss the law authorizing the senior services tax.

Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep explained the commission wants to help the board get organized and provide any information it needs. After that, the board will function on its own.

"Our only input is to thank them for agreeing to serve and to ask them to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money," said Huckstep.

He added that because of delinquent tax collections and other uncertainties, the commission will suggest to the board that it only budget about $195,000 for the first year to insure there are adequate funds to meet the commitments the board makes.

Although the board will recommend how funds from the tax should be spent, state law gives the county commission the final authority.

Besides electing a chairman, other priorities for the board will be to set up a procedure for taking applications from agencies in the county that want funds to administer programs; and to decide which programs are the most important at this time.

The tax money will start coming in around mid-November and should be available for distribution to agencies early next year.

In appointing a board, Huckstep stressed the commission tried to select citizens who were familiar with the needs of the elderly and who represented all parts of Cape Girardeau County.

Serving on the board are: Maurice Lange of Cape Girardeau, and Billy Joe Thompson of Jackson, who have four-year terms; Cecelia Sonderman of Cape Girardeau and Ken Lucy of Jackson, who have three-year terms; Dale Rauh of Jackson, and Shelba Branscum, representing the outcounty, have two-year terms; and Robert Deneke Sr., representing the outcounty, who has a one-year term.