Letter to the Editor

Cape can't stand another tax

To the editor:We can't stand any more tax. Can I go swimming free? No. Can I reserve a park pavilion for a function free? No. Can I hold a function in the Arena Building or Osage Centre free? No.

The council has a free hand to raise fees. The water and sewer tax is just that. Now the city wants to augment it with a sales tax for storm water? What is the water and sewer tax for?

Cape Girardeau should not build a water park. That should be private enterprise.

The Arena Building is in need of repairs. How many times has it paid for itself since 1940? And the city doesn't have funds to repair it? Go feed that to someone else. I think the people of Cape are stupid to keep voting for tax increases.

There was the transportation tax. Oh, we need it to pave our unpaved streets. Let the residents pay for it. It's their choice to live there. We need to widen and improve streets because we didn't require developers to do it. We need to put in sidewalks because we didn't require developers to do it. We need walking and riding trails and more parks that will require a lot more maintenance, expensive equipment, expensive fuel, expensive payroll, payroll tax, workers' comp and health insurance. Then we can tax, because we ran out of money.

There was the fire tax. Ridiculous. Now the city is cutting benefits to new firefighters. Why?

Makes me wonder where all the money goes. I wonder if Cape Girardeau should undergo a stringent audit.

DAN PHELPS, Cape Girardeau