Survey on vote gets replaced by forum

Plans for a survey of residents have been set aside in favor of a roundtable discussion as Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson looks for answers as to why voters rejected four tax and fee issues on the April ballot.

Knudtson said Wednesday that he decided on a roundtable discussion rather than a mailed survey because he and other council members worried that a questionnaire would anger some voters and be an unnecessary expense.

Knudtson said the council felt it would be too threatening to survey voters by mail since some voters may object to being asked to disclose how they voted.

"I think they would probably feel to a certain degree that they were being violated from the standpoint of the whole voting process," he said.

The roundtable discussion is scheduled for May 12 at 7 p.m. at the Osage Community Centre. Knudtson said he and other council members will invite interested residents who have contacted them. But the meeting will be open to all who want to attend, he said.

Knudtson said invited residents won't be members of the Invest 4 Cape task force that championed passage of the ballot issues. He said he wants to hear from ordinary residents and has already heard from people who have expressed interest in meeting with the city council.

"The profile of this person is not somebody who is going to tell us how great we are," the mayor said.

Unlike a roundtable discussion, a survey would have meant added expense for the city, Knudtson said.

City spokeswoman Tracey Glenn said it would have cost at least $600 to mail a questionnaire to city households with the utility bills and as much as $1,400 for a direct mail survey to all those who voted in the April 8 election.

Knudtson said city officials need more specifics as to why voters rejected the ballot issues and whether there are reasons other than simply "no new taxes."

Taxes rejected

Voters rejected a quarter-cent sales tax, a local-use tax, a monthly storm-water fee and replacement of a 10-cent property tax.

The four issues would have raised an estimated $4.1 million a year in added revenue for operating expenses, replacement of equipment, construction of drainage improvements, a new fire station and a water park, as well as expansion of the police station.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123