LEVIES SHOULD BE SET BEFORE SPENDING BEGINS

Not one taxpayer made a comment or asked a question at the hearing.

This is fairly typical of most public hearings on tax levies. Taxpayers, it seems, prefer to save their protests and questions until the bill arrives in the mail. Even the most rambunctious taxpayers do little more than mumble over the coffee cups about the cost of government and how much money is wasted -- not that most taxpayers know how money is wasted, just that it is, indeed, wasted.

So it would seem that the public hearings on tax levies would be crowded affairs with taxpayers elbowing each other to be first in line to be heard. Can't you just imagine a crowded council chamber at City Hall brimming over with taxpayers eager to let their views be known or to have their questions answered?

Frankly, most officials, both elected and administrative, are relieved when taxpayers assume public hearings on levies are of little value and stay away.

In the case of Cape Girardeau's levy, there wasn't a lot to talk about. The proposed 65-cent levy is the same as last year, so there was little reason for taxpayers to squawk.

Or was there?

For one thing, tax hearings are good places for taxpayers to ask public officials to explain why they need the same tax levy this year as last year. The economy has been booming. Assessed valuations are going up, which means the same levy as last year will produce more city revenue. So what does the city plan to do with the extra money? That's a good question for a tax hearing.

Some taxpayers might also want to know about any major shifts in city spending. What programs are going to get less money? Which ones are going to be eliminated? Where will more dollars be spent than last year? Those are good questions for a tax hearing.

What about salaries? What percentage increase are hourly workers receiving? And what about administrators? And are those percentages equal to or more than the cost-of-living index, which rose almost imperceptibly last year? Those are good questions for a tax hearing.

The timing of tax hearings -- established by state law -- is puzzling. In effect, cities adopt budgets that go into effect July 1 and then hold tax hearings on levies that will be on bills mailed later this year and are due by Dec. 31. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the budget and levy process linked in some way so that both are decided before the budget year starts?

If taxpayers think any of these questions should be asked, there will be an opportunity at the Cape Girardeau School District's Aug. 23 tax hearing -- to pay for a budget adopted earlier this year that went into effect last month.