Editorial: Many interests, complications at play in county courthouse plan

The Cape Girardeau County Commission began Thursday night to formally introduce to the public plans to build the county's first courthouse since 1908.

The concept isn't all that complex in terms of what the commission (and the committee formed to study the issue) would like to do. But it is complicated regarding who will or will not support the effort.

Taxpayers, of course, will have to pay for the courthouse. The plan put forward, which includes a new courthouse, a highway reroute, a parking garage, a remodel of the old courthouse, a jail addition and juvenile department building, has a price tag of nearly $44 million. The courthouse cost by itself is about half of that total. The county commission has not yet publicly claimed how it will go about paying for the project, but conventional wisdom is that a use tax would be a more logical option than a property tax increase or a bump in sales tax.

For those not familiar with a use tax, it is a tax that is levied on items purchased out of state and used here. County residents, either not convinced a tax is necessary or unclear on how it works, have already turned down a use tax. A use tax has come into play recently for several Missouri border counties. An absence of a use tax effectively allows out-of-state competitors to offer more competitive pricing by avoiding a local sales tax in Missouri, a move made possible by a court ruling. The sidestepping of local sales taxes is particularly evident with auto sales when savings can be hundreds of dollars, but the effect becomes increasingly magnified as more consumers make exponentially more Internet purchases.

A tax increase and project of this magnitude won't be easy, nor will they be supported by everyone, but there are many factors at play:

Need

The county has made a compelling case that a new courthouse is needed. As the county has grown, the space for courts has not. The two courthouses used -- the one on the Jackson courthouse square and the Common Pleas courthouse in Cape Girardeau -- are landmarks, but they are neither efficient nor secure. The duplication creates many inefficiencies and security issues for those holding and attending court. In many instances, there's simply not enough room to handle the volume of cases and people. But the question the commission must face: Who will care enough to vote to increase their taxes? Voters in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson communities have passed several tax initiatives in recent memory, but they have been for visible things such as parks, schools and public safety. Most voters use the courts very rarely, so will they be motivated to approve the plan? That brings us to:

Transportation

An intriguing element to the courthouse plan offers a solution to a long-standing traffic problem in Jackson. Uptown traffic during peak times is very congested. The city of Jackson and the Missouri Department of Transportation have long identified the Highway 61 corridor as one of -- if not the top -- transportation issues in the city. The county's plan to tear down the county administration building would allow for a nice, clean solution to this decades-old problem. As Jackson residents look at the plan, they might be compelled to vote for the measure simply to fix the commuter quagmire.

Business

Because of reasons explained earlier, the chambers of commerce have supported a use tax in the past. Will the chambers once again try to advocate for a use tax if that, indeed, is proposed? The chambers supported the use tax as a way to "level the playing field" against competitors across the river and beyond.

Legal community

We've already seen that some have voiced concern, if not outright opposition, in consolidating court proceedings in one building. Mark Lanzotti, a Cape Girardeau City Councilman and an attorney, has expressed his displeasure in forcing Cape Girardeau residents and attorneys to travel the 12 or so miles to the county seat for court. However, others, particularly judges, have long voiced their concerns about lack of security, and they support the court consolidation. How divided will the law community be over the plan? How much time, effort and resources will they spend getting behind the movement? That will be a key, ultimately, in any attempt to convince voters to approve a tax.

Historical considerations

Some have expressed concern over what might become of the historic Common Pleas Courthouse. That question still remains. The Jackson courthouse will be remodeled and used for public defender space, an office for the public administrator, a law library and a drug court.

Communication

The county is still formulating its plans in the form of public meetings. It may decide to leave off elements of the plan, postponing, for instance, the jail addition. It's premature at this point to make any concrete judgments whether the plan will be worth a tax increase. The passage of a tax won't be easy. There are real needs. There are transportation factors at play. Parochial interests. And perhaps a complicated explanation of what a use tax is and who it might help. County residents defeated a use tax by a wide margin, 4,592 to 2,387, last year; it was also defeated in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. The soonest a tax could be put on the ballot is April, and there are other tax considerations looming in Cape Girardeau. The county commission will have its hands full explaining all of the different factors at play and energizing supporters to help the courthouse cause.

The next public meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 22, at Riverside Regional Library at 1997 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson. You can go to the semissourian.com home page and view detailed plans. We would encourage you to attend the meeting and study the issue to be informed about the needs and costs of the project.