TAX PLAN OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED

Before Cape Girardeau voters go to the polls on June 6 to vote on a proposed half-cent sales tax for street improvements, they will have ample opportunities to become informed about the tax and how it will be used. Voters also will have ample opportunities to become a participant in the process that sets priorities for street projects. Together, voters and elected officials can expect a detailed outline both of how much money would be raised by the proposed sales tax and how -- specifically -- those funds would be spent.

This is a big financial decision for the city. There is a long list of unfunded projects in the city's five-year capital improvements plan. The half-cent sales tax proposed by the city council would generate an estimated $24.3 million over the seven-year life of the tax. City officials say proceeds from the sales tax would pay for transportation projects that are scheduled for the third, fourth and fifth years of the current capital improvements plan, with approximately $17 million left over for projects on the unfunded list.

There could be other projects that need to be considered along the way that aren't on either the list of planned improvements or the unfunded projects list. That is why it is so very important for Cape Girardeau residents to take an interest in this sales tax plan and to get involved in the process leading up to the June 6 vote.

Along the way, several key groups will be involved in critical decisions about the sales tax and the projects it would fund. The city council, of course, will have the final say, but two other groups will be making recommendations: The planning and zoning commission and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's surface transportation committee.

There are plenty of opportunities for Cape Girardeau residents to become involved in this process. Getting your views to council members or members of the planning and zoning commission and the surface transportation commission is just one way. Another will be to attend one of two public hearings the city intends to hold this spring. Yet another way to get involved is through a healthy exchange of ideas in letters to the editor or by calling Speak Out in the Southeast Missourian.

Whatever method residents choose, no voter should go to the polls in June without a thorough understanding of the whole transportation sales tax plan -- and an opinion about the merits of the plan and the projects it would fund.

TELEPHONE OR WRITE

CITY COUNCIL:City HallP.O. Box 617Cape Girardeau, Mo.63702-0617 Mayor Al Spradling III335-8296 Ward 1 J.J. Williamson Jr.339-0656 Ward 2Tom Neumeyer335-0449 Ward 3Jack Rickard335-7765 Ward 4Melvin Kasten335-7864 Ward 5Melvin Gateley334-1303 Ward 6Richard Eggimann334-4951PLANNINGAND ZONINGCOMMISSION:City HallP.O. Box 617Cape Girardeau, Mo.63702-0617 Charles Haubold Jr.(Chairman)335-7880 Thomas Mogelnicki(Vice Chairman)335-0171 Robert N. Cox335-3460 Jim L. Crain334-4761 Thomas Holshouser334-6422 R.J. McKinney334-4477 Harry E. Rediger Jr.334-2881 Charles Thrower Jr.651-2212 Dennis J. Vollink335-3134CHAMBEROF COMMERCESURFACETRANSPORTATIONCOMMITTEE:P.O. Box 98Cape Girardeau, Mo.63702-0098 Larry Payne(Chairman)264-2162 David Barklage651-1081 Calvin Bird243-1663 Dennis Cain334-0954 Jim Ham334-7111 Harry Rediger334-2881