Going too far

The Cape Girardeau County Commission's efforts to secure support for its proposed half-cent increase in the county sales tax took a strange turn this week.

One of the county's selling points is that its road-and-bridge property tax would be eliminated, and revenue from the sales-tax increase would replace it. Because of a lawsuit, the county also must pay Jackson 25 percent of road-and-bridge tax revenue collected from Jackson property owners.

At a meeting this week, the county made an offer: The county would, if the sales-tax increase passes, not only give Jackson an amount equivalent to the revenue it would have received from the road-and-bridge property tax, the county also would throw in an extra $25,000 a year. All the board of aldermen would have to do is endorse the county's plan.

This may be one of the most blatant examples of in appropriate governmental arm-twisting witnessed in these parts in a long time.

Whether or not the board of aldermen endorses the county tax plan should be based on the merits of the proposal and the case the county makes for needing the money and how it would be spent. To offer to buy the endorsements is to set the kind of example that gives too much of government a black eye.