VISION 2000 SEEKS INPUT ON STREETS

There is a possibility that a transportation sales tax issue for Cape Girardeau could still be on the ballot this year.

A few weeks ago Mayor Al Spradling III proposed a half-cent sales tax estimated to generate nearly $25 million over seven years. The money was to be used on street projects that are above and beyond the city's capital-improvement plan. There are some major projects that need to be completed, but the city must allocate its resources to those most urgently needed. There isn't enough money to go around without another source of revenue.

At first it looked like the council would put the tax issue on the August ballot, but at the last moment -- and with one supportive council member absent -- the council decided in a split vote not to let voters decide on the sales tax.

This is the core issue. There is still a lot of information the city needs to develop for voters to make a good decision about whether the sales tax is the most appropriate course of action. The question is when that information needs to be given to voters: before the issue goes on the ballot or during a campaign for passage once it already is scheduled for a vote?

Rather than have the issue fade away, the Vision 2000 organization, whose most visible and active leader is Councilman Melvin Gately, is going to hold a series of meetings to provide for the development of recommendations regarding both which street projects need to be on a high-priority list and how best to pay for them.

It is likely the Vision 2000 recommendation will be for specific projects to be funded by a sales tax. It is important that grass-roots input be considered in the process. City officials, both elected and administrative, can find ways to facilitate this process.

In the end, voters should have a clearer idea of what is at stake.

The Vision 2000 hearings will start April 18 and go through May 13. A town hall meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 22 as a wrapup to the process. As more information becomes available, residents of the city should make time to participate and be heard.