Three use taxes fail by wide margin in region

Of the three local use tax questions on the ballot this year, none managed to gain voter approval in Tuesday's election.

In Cape Girardeau County, the city of Cape Girardeau and the city of Jackson, the measures failed roughly 2-to-1.

Election judges at the New McKendree Church polling location said the use tax issue, combined with the city's crowded school board race, brought a heavier stream of voters to their booths than was typical of an April election. Of the voters who cast their ballots across the city, 66.6 percent voted against the city use tax.

Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce director Brian Gerau, who helped spearhead efforts to educate people in the city and county about the benefits of the tax, said, "The voters have spoken and evidently didn't believe in the use tax."

He said the chamber respected the voters' decision and hoped they would continue to support local businesses in the future.

While at least two precincts in Cape Girardeau reported a slow morning, voters still turned out to overwhelmingly reject the city use tax, 67.95 percent to 32.05.

Mayor Harry Rediger, who was re-elected to that position today, said he wasn't surprised the measure failed to pass in the city.

"[The use tax] was something we were asked to put on the ballot as council to a vote of the people ... and they've made it very clear they want nothing to do with the use tax," he said.

Rediger said two factors might have played a role in the strong opposition to the measure: the complicated nature of the tax and the overall dislike many voters have for any issue raising or implementing taxes.

Carla Tilley, a supervising election judge at the Arena Building polling location, said only a few voters had questions about the use tax question.

"They just asked if 'yes' was yes and 'no' was no," she said. "Sometimes they word [the question] funny."

Election judges are not permitted to answer voter questions about issues on the ballot, but historically, voters occasionally attempt to ask judges to clarify ballot questions about issues such as taxes.

In Cape Girardeau County, the 1 percent use tax only garnered about 34 percent approval from voters.

Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said if the use tax issue passed, the funds likely would have been a revenue source for updating older buildings and facilities in the county.

If approved, the taxes would have been combined with the state use tax of 4.225 percent and levied on untaxed, out-of-state purchases.

Supporters of the measure said it would "level the playing field" for local businesses by encouraging consumers to shop near home, rather than crossing state lines to make big-ticket purchases.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

410 Kiwanis Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

225 South High St., Jackson, Mo.