Ward 4 council candidates back use-tax measure

Cape Girardeau Ward 4 City Council candidates Robbie Guard and Patrick Koetting favor the proposed use tax and an accompanying plan to spend more money on public safety.

Guard and Koetting answered questions and discussed their reasons for seeking political office at a Thursday night meeting of the SEMO Pachyderms.

About 20 people attended the gathering at Dexter Bar-B-Que in Cape Girardeau.

The Ward 4 seat is the only contested council position on the April 5 ballot. Ward 4 covers a large part of the city's north side, covering an area north of Lexington Avenue and west of Old Sprigg Street Road. Both candidates said the proposed use tax, which is on the ballot this spring, would allow the city to hire more police officers.

Koetting said he is a "strong supporter" of public safety.

Koetting said the city has experienced a "revolving door" of police officers and firefighters who are hired, gain experience and then leave for higher-paying departments.

He said he prefers a use tax, which is levied on out-of-state purchases, rather than a property tax or another local sales tax to fund public safety better. Those who spend their money locally won't be paying the use tax, he said.

Koetting, who serves on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, briefly served on the council as an interim representative of Ward 3 in 2014. He held the position until the seat was filled in a special election. He subsequently moved to Ward 4.

A sales representative for the Major Brands company, Koetting said his customer-service skills are his biggest asset. He maintained city government needs "a better line of communication" with its residents.

"A good deal of the general citizenry doesn't understand how our city works," he said.

Like Koetting, Guard said the city has a problem with officer turnover.

"We have got to get that solved," he said.

Passage of the use tax would provide revenue to hire more police officers to patrol the city, he said.

Guard told the Republican group he is a sixth-generation resident of the city.

"I love Cape. I have deep roots here," he said.

Guard said the city needs to attract new businesses while working to keep existing employers.

"We need to make it easier to do business in town," he said.

An assistant vice president of commercial lending with MRV Banks, Guard said it is important for city government to be fiscally responsible.

"It is the council's duty to be the checks and balance ... to make sure we are spending money the right way," he said.

Guard said he deals with businesses in his banking position.

"I look at budgets all the time. Numbers tell the story," he told the audience.

He suggested he has the right character to serve on the council.

"I have the confidence to go head to head with strong personalities," Guard said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

236 S. Broadview, Cape Girardeau, Mo.