VOTERS TO DECIDE LIBRARIES, STREETS; VOTERS TO DECIDE FATE OF STREETS IN SCOTT CITY

SCOTT CITY -- With only five days left until a special election, a citizen's committee in Scott City is busy distributing information to voters about a proposed half-cent sales tax increase.

In August, the Scott City Council unanimously approved a special election for the sales tax which will fund street improvements.

Earlier this week, a five-member citizen's committee met with residents who ranked the streets in need of repair.

About $110,000 is expected to be raised annually through the transportation sales tax. All the money will be used exclusively to pave and repair city streets.

An increase in the sales tax will not increase property tax rates, said City Administrator John Saxton.

Scott City's current sales tax rate is 5.975. The half-cent increase will raise it to 6.475, bringing it up to the same level as the cities of Sikeston and Cape Girardeau.

Both cities passed a similar tax in August. If passed in Scott City, the tax would not be collected until July 1, 1996.

Public Works Director Harold Uelsmann said no one has compiled a definitive list of streets that will be repaired if the tax passes.

But about 90 percent of the streets are in a position to be repaired, Uelsmann said, adding that a majority of them need a blacktop overlay or sealing.

Other repairs that are needed include potholes, patching for eroded spots and paving the more than 10 gravel streets in the city.

Both Lincoln and Cherry streets were paved last month but it took the city several years to find enough money for the $50,000 project.

When federal revenue-sharing was phased out in 1986, Scott City lost about $50,000 to $60,000 annually, said Saxton, adding that residents are now seeing the effects of that financial loss.

"Now they can see how much the capital needs have suffered," Saxton said.

The city has no budget for routine street repairs, only emergency repairs.

The additional revenue from the sales tax will help fund regular maintenance and special projects.

Because no state or county elections are scheduled for Tuesday, the city must pay the cost of printing the ballots.

Costs are estimated at $700, said Scott County Clerk Rita Milam, adding that voter turnout typically is low at special elections.

Polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 618 Main St., and close at 7 p.m.