It's up to council to decide Cape's needs

In a year when tax increases of almost any stripe have faced overwhelming voter opposition, the most recent proposals for tax increases to meet the needs of Cape Girardeau's city government have been met with total silence.

More than a week has passed since the Citizens Finance Task Force issued its recommendations. The task force recommended a quarter-cent sales-tax increase, a new local use tax, an extension of a 10-cent property tax and a stormwater utility fee yet to be determined but estimated to be in the range of $2 to more than $3.50 a month. So far, there has been virtually no public reaction to those recommendations.

The task force's recommendations are the latest layer of fact-gathering pointing to the need for more city revenue. Earlier this year, a committee of city employees met for weeks trying to pinpoint the city's needs and how to pay for them. That group also recommended tax increases, but the Cape Girardeau City Council prudently decided to hold off on asking for voter approval.

There may be several explanations for the lack of response to the task force's proposed tax increases.

One explanation is that the city council has yet to take any of the recommendations beyond the discussion stage. No vote has been set on any tax increases, which means a lot of city voters don't really have anything solid to evaluate.

Another explanation is that the city's financial situation has been widely reported for several months now, and every indication from the city's employee committee and the citizens task force is that there truly is a need for additional sources of revenue. It remains up to the council to decide how much and how to raise those funds.

In addition to recommending tax increases, the task force also has scaled back considerably the wish list of needs prepared by the employee committee. Even so, the biggest items recommended by the task force would cost $21.4 million over the next 20 years. They include $4.5 million for equipment purchases, $3.6 million for stormwater projects, $1.8 million for a new fire station, nearly $5 million for an addition to the police station and $6.5 million for an aquatic center.

Items that have been identified as needed that weren't included in the task force's recommendations include pay adjustments costing $1.2 million or more a year for the next five fiscal years, an $8.6 million public works facility, nearly $1 million for a fire training facility, $4.2 million for general park improvements, addition public safety and maintenance positions costing $750,000 or more a year for the next five fiscal years and $1.4 million for new operating equipment.

In making its recommendation, the task force conservatively assumed a 2 percent inflation rate for the next five years and a slowdown in sales-tax revenue, the city's major source of funding.

The task now facing the city council is how to proceed. While the employee committee and the citizens task force have identified millions of dollars of needs and revenue plans to meet those needs, it will be up to the council to decide what needs and revenue enhancements to put before voters.

Most importantly, it will be incumbent on the council to be prepared to make its case clearly and convincingly for whatever it ultimately proposes.