County may set use-tax ballot for a later date

The Cape Girardeau County Commission will decide today whether a use tax on vehicles and other purchases from across state lines will be on the ballot in November or at a later date.

"The public meeting on Friday will let us see where we're at," said Clint Tracy, presiding commissioner.

The uncertainty also has caused Jackson's city government to take a wait-and-see approach, with the hopes of getting an issue on the same ballot as the county.

The county's hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the administration building in Jackson, concerns the question of a use tax the county commission must approve before Wednesday if it is to appear on the November ballot. The county use tax, if approved by voters, would be set at 1 percent.

"We're still available for November," Tracy said, "but it doesn't have to be November, either. There's no reason to rush it. If we decide not to do it then, the county commission will weigh the options for the best time to have an election."

The county commission has been talking about placing a use-tax question on the ballot for more than a year, Tracy said.

"The issue has not yet gone to the ballot because commissioners weren't sure there was enough time to educate voters on the use tax," he said.

The county commission also wanted input from local businesses on whether a use tax was needed, Tracy said.

As defined in a law signed by Gov. Jay Nixon this summer, counties and municipalities have until November 2016 to persuade voters to approve use taxes to be able to collect taxes on out-of-state vehicle purchases indefinitely. If county voters were to pass a use tax, Cape Girardeau County would join about 55 other Missouri jurisdictions able to charge a tax equal to the county's general revenue sales tax on vehicles and other goods costing more than $2,000 that are bought across state lines or from individuals.

The possibility of the county commission not bringing the measure before voters in November has led the city of Jackson to rethink implementation of its own use tax.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen discussed a use-tax ballot question at its Monday meeting and called for a public hearing. But the hearing, set for Monday, has been canceled.

"There was a consensus among board members that we were not going to be on the ballot alone," said Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr.

Lohr said if just the city of Jackson put the use tax on the November ballot, the city would have to bear the cost of holding the election. "It would be better if we were all together on the issue," she said. "I think the county commission is leaning toward having an election in April."

Joe Bob Baker, an alderman who represents Ward 4, said he approved of delaying the use tax in Jackson.

"I'm glad that we're holding off," Baker said. "It's like we're rushing to do this."

Baker said more time was needed to better inform voters.

"We need to talk about it more," he said. "They way we're going about it now seems sneaky to me."

The Cape Girardeau City Council also decided not to go for a November use-tax issue at its meeting Monday, citing concerns about the short time frame the council would have to get the question on the ballot.

Bollinger and Perry counties and the city of Perryville, Mo., passed use taxes in April, but Scott County voters rejected its proposal. However, Scott County commissioners are reportedly reviving the issue for the November ballot.

klewis@semissourian.com

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eragan@semissourian

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