Cape faces key task of educating voters

There are plenty of questions that Cape Girardeau voters are already asking, now that the Cape Girardeau City Council has placed four tax and fee issues on the April 8 ballot. City leaders, seeking to generate $4 million in new revenue, are asking voters to approve a package that has several parts and will be used for a list of projects on a priority list.

Among the questions already being asked, before the city begins making presentations that explain the proposals: Are the tax increases really necessary? What will the money go for? Why should I give the city more of my hard-earned money? Who cares about a water park during a recession?

Voters are being asked to approve a stormwater utility fee, a use tax (a sales tax on items purchased out of state totaling more than $2,000 a year), a quarter-cent sales-tax increase and an extension of a 10-cent property tax that's about to expire.

City leaders are hoping voters will be informed and understand the city's needs and how to pay for them by April 8. Before the vote (the same day as municipal and school elections), city employees plan to shine some light on the issues and make it clear what the money is going for and why it is needed now. An education campaign is being prepared and, during February and March, a team of city employees and department heads will make its pitch to various service clubs and organizations throughout the community.

Some things the city officials will say is that the money will go for operating costs, equipment replacement, stormwater projects, a new fire station, a police station addition and a family water park.

City departments for years have been begging for better equipment and improved facilities. Meeting those requests has been made increasingly difficult, city officials say, by three years of slower growth in sales-tax revenue, a primary source of city funding.

Because of that, the city has spent more than it has taken in during that time, dipping into cash reserves that are intended as an emergency fund.

One of the projects that the city is proposing to pay for with the proposed revenue is a family water park. Officials say the water park would help give the local economy a push.

The city plans to explain its proposals in a 20-minute presentation that is being compiled from recommendations from two committees and more than a year of study.

Some of the proposals may be a tough sell, and some of the things -- even if voters understand them -- may be hard for voters to justify supporting during these tough times. The proposals also are complicated by the fact that the projects won't be specifically listed on the ballot.

Most voters want to make informed decisions, and it will be up to city leaders to help them do that.