State parks depend on Aug. 8 ballot measure, tax supporters say

ROARING RIVER STATE PARK, Mo. (AP) -- Rainbow trout drift in clear water. Anglers ranging from kids to grown-ups to whole families line the banks of the Roaring River, in the southwest Missouri Ozarks. Nearby campgrounds and cabins are busy, and license plates show a mix of Missourians and visitors from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

It's a summer day in one of Missouri's 83 state parks, and while visitors play, a construction crew works to finish a new $775,000 sewage system to keep the river clean despite 187 camp sites, a 26-room inn and 26 rental cabins.

New projects in planning include renovating a set of motel-style cabins for the first time since they were built around 1980 and restoring a historic one-room schoolhouse that was open from 1913 to 1952.

At Roaring River, as at all Missouri state parks, operations from maintenance to naturalist programs to new hiking trails are funded by a two-decades-old sales tax that is up for renewal on the Aug. 8 state ballot.

"It's been the primary source of funding since 1984 for supporting the infrastructure and operation of our Missouri state parks as well as soil and water conservation programs," said Ron Coleman of St. Louis, president of the Missouri Parks Association. The private group is part of a coalition including farm and naturalist organizations that is campaigning for the measure.

"I don't know where the money would come from if the tax was not there. I think we would see a great deterioration in the experience in our state parks as well as in their services," Coleman said.

The one-tenth cent sales tax was first narrowly approved by voters in 1984. It has been renewed twice since, with two-thirds support, after being placed on the ballot by initiative petition drives, which involve gathering thousands of signatures.

The measure voters will consider this time was referred to the ballot by the Legislature. It would amend the state constitution to extend the tax for 10 years and to put the issue before voters every 10 years from now on, making future citizen-led petition drives unnecessary.

The tax is expected to generate $82 million a year. The money is divided equally between state parks and soil conservation efforts on agricultural property.

Supporters say that soil erosion in Missouri has been cut by more than half since the tax was first approved, with two main benefits. The state's large agricultural sector is preserving fertile land, which helps food production and the economy, and there is less mud in the water, keeping it cleaner and easier to treat for drinking water.

The soil conservation money goes to programs that are run by county boards.

If voters do not renew the sales tax, it would expire in 2008, and legislators likely would have to use money from the state's general-revenue fund for the programs or cut them. The general-revenue fund is used for many government programs, including public education, Medicaid and prisons.

State parks receive no general-revenue money now and money from the tax makes up about 75 percent of their funding, the Department of Natural Resources said.

"Having the people vote on it every ten years is way of remaining accountable. We believe that we've done a good job with the money in taking care of the state parks system, so we'll wait and see how the citizens feel on August 8," DNR spokeswoman Sue Holtz said.

Coleman said he's unaware of any organized opposition to the ballot measure but said a larger concern is people not caring enough about the issue to vote.

Some in urban and suburban areas have complained about the tax. One concern is that most state parks aren't in urban areas, so metropolitan taxpayers contribute a lot without seeing a direct benefit.

Another, pressed more when the Legislature sent the measure to the ballot last year, is that soil erosion money is directed at agricultural concerns and doesn't help suburban homeowners whose yards may get washed away by storm water.

St. Louis County Municipal League Executive Director Tim Fischesser said St. Louis-area resident have expressed concerns about the tax but the league has not taken an official position on it.

St. Louis area towns and cities have had to pass local and regional sales taxes to fund their own area parks, Fischesser said.

Tax supporters said urban residents benefit by having safe, clean water statewide and an affordable food supply. While much of the soil tax money is used to help farmers pay for projects to curb soil erosion, some also is spent to help keep streams free of pollution, such as animal waste from farmland.

They also say the parks contribute to the state economy to the tune of $410 spent by visitors, according to a 2002 study. When that money is spent and re-spent in the economy, it brings the overall economic impact to $538 million, they say.

Back on the Roaring River, avid fisherman John Ruge from the Neosho area said he would vote for the tax.

Ruge, 64, says he's been fishing in the park since he was 7 or 8 years old.

"I didn't know it any other way. I wouldn't want it to change," Ruge said.