CID suggestions

To the Community Improvement District:Since being formed in 2010, the district is still struggling to get signatures of businesses within its borders. If the reasons for the formation of the district and the end result of better safety, beautification and cleanliness, let me make the following suggestions:

1. Extend the district to include Lorimier from Broadway to Morgan Oak Street.

2. No gerrymandering of any business within the requested district, i.e. Southeast Builders Supply at 411 Jefferson Avenue.

3. Use the same rules and procedures that were used in blighting the south side of the Town Plaza with the exception of raising the sales tax one cent. The district could just be given a half-cent from the city side of the 7.975 collected by retail sales.

4. Abatement of school district taxes would enable the CID to attain a sound financial base.

5. Do this for five years and then evaluate the beauty, safety and cleanliness of the downtown and then decide whether to continue or return to city and school district control of the money.

Rationale:

Using my business and sales as a margin on the numbers, it would look as follows:

Taxes paid to:

Cape Girardeau No. 63: $1,153.48

Business District: $186.15

Sale tax to state: $11,333.32

I don't know what the city gets as its share, but they could give the district 0.05 as their share for not having to clean, police or beautify the area designated as the CID.

CHARLES BERTRAND, Cape Girardeau