AS CITY REVENUE GROWS, WHAT ABOUT LOOKING AT TAX CUTS?

It is likely few Cape Girardeau taxpayers are aware that $1 million lies dormant in an escrow account in city coffers, the accumulated revenue from a kind of sales tax, called a use tax, on out-of-state purchases.

The tax revenue, about $300,000 annually, is Cape Girardeau's share of use-tax receipts collected by the state and allocated to cities in Missouri. A lawsuit challenging the legality if the tax is all that keeps city officials from earmarking the use-tax revenue for various budget needs. City Manager J. Ronald Fischer would like nothing better than to spend the money.

City salary increases are a hot topic, and the police department asked for a 10 percent raise, although the budget presented this week to the city council only includes modest increases for city employees. The police pay raise would amount to about $300,000 a year. That is also approximately the amount needed to adequately finance depreciation and capital purchases for the fleet of city vehicles.

And yet taxpayers are left to wonder: Why is it that every time tax revenue increases -- whether on the local, state or federal level -- government officials always feel the need to find new ways to spend the money? If it hasn't already been suggested, let's waste no more time. The city ought to at least consider returning the additional revenue to city residents by lightening their local tax load.

The city's budget has seen almost unbridled growth in recent years, doubling just since 1991. At the same time, property tax assessments are on the rise, and sales tax revenue continues to grow at a record pace. Yet the response each time tax breaks are brought up is that there isn't enough money in the budget. That threadbare line is beginning to ring hollow.

While there are many reasons for the budget's burgeoning size -- it will total nearly $55 million in the next fiscal year if adopted as proposed, an undeniable factor has been a rapid increase in city revenue. That is good news for economic development types who look at climbing sales tax revenue as the best indicator of a robust economy in Cape Girardeau.

But rising revenue shouldn't give automatic license to rising expenses and expanded city bureaucracy. One area of the budget in particular deserves a second look: Salaries of our city's rank-and-file police officers.

The proposed budget includes pay raises of 2.5 to 3 percent for most city employees. Police officers have asked for 10 percent raises. City officials insist there isn't enough money to meet the request, but there must be some way to reallocate funds in a budget that has doubled in size in only four years.

Even if the city is unable to grant the full 10 percent pay hike, a reasonable compromise ought to be sought, particularly in light of Cape Girardeau police officers' low salaries compared to policemen in cities of comparable size.

Budgets are a good barometer of a city's priorities. It is time to make law enforcement a priority. Part of the equation has to include officers' salaries.