COUNCIL ACTS WISELY

The Cape Girardeau City Council has taken a step rarely seen in the real world of government and politics. Led by Mayor Al Spradling III, the council this week voted to rescind earlier actions that increased some city fees higher than a 5 percent cap the council imposed on itself a year ago. And the council rolled back a planned 5 percent boost in sewer rates.

These actions came in the face of widespread discontent among city taxpayers after the council voted to raise golf and recreation fees above the 5 percent cap. Even though the extra cost to users of the municipal golf course and other recreation programs was just pennies, the concept of exceeding the limit was unacceptable to most taxpayers.

The mayor and council are to be commended for listening to taxpayers and responding accordingly. The city's elected officials have demonstrated they are serious about maintaining a high level of trust. Undoing some key decisions at budget time is tough to do, but the mayor and council faced up to their responsibilities.

Now members of the city staff are faced with making some crucial adjustment in the budget for the next fiscal year. They won't be able to count on revenue that would have been produced by the rate increases. In the end, it is likely city government will operate more efficiently over the next year in order to keep expenses down.

This sounds like a winning proposition all the way around.