Cape officials eye ways to streamline city operations

Faced with flat sales tax revenue, Cape Girardeau city staff are studying ways to make city government more efficient, including possible privatization of some city services.

Possible privatization of some airport services and the wastewater treatment plant have been discussed, along with numerous other ways to reduce costs. But no decisions have been made, city manager Scott Meyer said.

City staff plan to discuss a number of possible moves as the City Council looks at budgetary issues next year, Meyer said.

"We told our staff everything is on the table," he said.

Possible changes include everything from reducing hours of operation, potential reduction in services and reduction in staff, he said.

Also on the table is the possibility of raising sales taxes and user fees to better cover costs, Meyer said. Voter approval would be needed to raise taxes, he said.

Even selling off the municipal golf course could be considered, he said.

The City Council in June approved a nearly $72 million budget for fiscal 2020, which began July 1. The budget included a 2% pay raise for city employees.

Annual expenses are exceeding revenue, forcing city government to dip into its unreserved fund balance to cover costs.

An internal committee of about a dozen members, representing every city department, has been meeting since July to take a hard look at city operations and finances.

The group is led by deputy city manager Molly Mehner and city finance director Victor Brownlees.

"It was really about trying to reinvent how we operate and hopefully save some money along the way," Mehner said Thursday.

The group plans to sit in on department budget meetings as the budget for the next fiscal year is drafted.

"I think we are trying to change the mindset of our organization and part of that will be in our upcoming budget process," she said.

Over the past several decades, Meyer said, Cape Girardeau city government has gone from a "bare bones" operation to a "high service" operation, particularly in terms of parks and recreation.

"Our voters really have supported that," he said.

But financially times have changed.

Meyer said the city has experienced flat sales tax revenue as more and more consumers are purchasing items online, avoiding paying city sales taxes.

The city cannot continue with current operations if the revenue picture does not improve, he said.

"It is serious enough now where we feel like we have to begin to not just find ways to make our budget work, but to look at structural changes to how we do governing," he said.

Meyer said, "Privatization could be in a lot of areas."

The city already has gone down that path in some areas, including contracting for city engineer services and the operation of the city's water plant. A private entity, Alliance Water Resources, operates the water system under a contract with the city.

"That could happen in a lot of different areas of our operations," Meyer said.

As for the airport, Meyer said the city likely would continue to own the airport even if some services might be privatized.

One possibility would be contract with a private firm to operate the fixed-base operation at the airport as was done years ago, Mehner, the deputy city manager, said. The fixed-base operation involves everything from fueling planes to aircraft maintenance and parking of planes.

Mehner said she hopes any changes will help "streamline our operations."

She said, for example, a new restaurant is inspected by as many as three different city employees. "We have a building inspector. We have a fire inspector and, if it is a food establishment, someone from the wastewater plant inspects the grease trap," Mehner said.

"Does it make sense for three people to go to a business?" she asked. "Why not have one individual who can do all three inspections?"

Raising fees and taxes could generate more revenue, but there also is an issue of keeping charges reasonable, Meyer said.

"Do you really want to have development fees to pay for everything done in development services?" he asked.

Meyer and Mehner said any budget changes would not occur in a single year.

"This is more of a marathon than a sprint," said Mehner. "This is a thing that is going to take the next three to five years to really right the ship."

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