TAX HAS HELPED OTHER AREA CITIES GROW AND PROSPER (ON THE ROADS AGAIN)

Officials in area cities that have a transportation tax say the revenue such a tax generates helped them grow and prosper without having to dip into general revenue funds.

"The people in Jackson can see how much is being done to improve and build roads," Jackson City Manager Steve Miller said. "There is always more work to be done than money available to take care of it, but we are completing projects at a faster rate than we would without the tax. Some infrastructure projects wouldn't get done at all."

Jackson voters passed a transportation tax in 1987. The first year that the tax kicked in, 1988, Jackson consumers and out-of-town visitors generated $260,204 for designated road projects.

There has been a steady increase in revenue since the first year the tax was voted in.

There are 78 cities in Missouri that have adopted the half-cent transportation sales tax. In 1986 there were only 36 cities with a transportation tax.

Voters in Cape Girardeau will decide Tuesday if they want a transportation tax. The tax is expected to generate more than $3 million the first year. Over a five-year period the tax would bring in $17 million and could pay for 20 projects identified by city officials.

"Last year we got $454,000 from the transportation tax, but when you stop and think that one project alone could cost $300,000, it doesn't go very far," Miller said. Jackson has amassed $234,532 from the transportation tax thus far this year.

Miller said Jackson residents are willing to share the cost of projects that require special assessments if they know what they're getting in return. "People in Jackson are educated voters," he said. "They spend time finding out what is involved before they make a decision. If you lay it all out in front of them and show what they're getting for their dollar, people are willing to pay their share."

Perryville Mayor Bob Miget said the transportation tax is popular because residents can see the city flourish before their eyes. But it wasn't so clear-cut several years ago.

"I remember we filled the community center the evening it was discussed," Miget said. "One man said that those who weren't for progress in Perryville could move out. Another said we didn't need any more taxes. It got pretty boisterous."

After a lengthy debate, voters in Perryville passed the transportation tax in 1982. "The transportation tax has been a tremendous asset to the city ever since," he said.

Miget added that Perryville would not have been able to grow the way it has the past 12 years were it not for the money generated by the transportation tax.

The half-cent transportation tax generated $424,426 for Perryville last year.

"We would be two to three years behind where we are right now if it weren't for the money we get from the tax," he said. "The only other option to take care of roads would be to take money from the general revenue fund, and we just couldn't do that on a consistent basis."

Sikeston City Clerk Carroll Couch said citizens recognized a need for a transportation tax "every time they drove over a pothole."

"The citizens could readily see that we needed to find something to pay for the repair and construction of roads in Sikeston," Couch said. "The only complaints I've ever heard is that there are too many delays in the projects on the priority list."

Couch said cities that have voted in the transportation tax have the ability to attract new residents and businesses. "When someone comes into your city and is impressed with the condition of your roads, there is always a chance they might want to come back," he said. "It's good for tourism and attracting new businesses."

Sikeston's transportation tax generates about $850,000 each year.