Our Opinion: Cape leadership must regain residents' support

For the second time this year, Cape Girardeau voters have rejected officials’ plans to fund municipal projects.

In April, residents voted down a property tax measure to enhance salaries/benefits for emergency service personnel. The 52%-48% vote came despite residents regularly pointing to crime as a top-of-mind problem in the city.

Earlier this month, 58% of voters refused to support a water rate increase to overhaul the city’s water system, which officials say needs about $120 million worth of repairs and expansion.

The vote came on the heels of a half-dozen water main breaks in the days leading to election day and less than a year after a major water main break left a significant portion of the city without water over the Thanksgiving holiday. Water pipes in some parts of the city are generations old. Plus, officials are metaphorically holding together the city’s water treatment plant with baling wire and duct tape and note they may have to restrict water use in the near future.

It’s cliché but true, it’s not a matter of if the city’s water system will suffer a failure but when.

Add to the potentially devastating problems that could burst onto the scene at any moment an important fact: Reliable, abundant water is a selling point when attracting new employers and allowing existing ones to grow.

The City of Cape Girardeau’s water system is in dire straits with problems becoming only more expensive to fix over time. So, why did voters frown on the water rate proposal?

We are in a difficult economic environment in which asking people to pay more for essential services is an upward battle. No doubt, that and confusing ballot language played parts in why the vote went the way it did. Add those to public questions about other city spending priorities, along with the failure of prior city leadership to discuss the looming issue, and passage was a difficult proposition.

However, there didn’t seem to be much energy from municipal officials to push the measure over the top.

There was no champion outside the mayor and city administration. No one standing on street corners to explain why the City needs more money to shore up the water system for decades to come. No special public meetings to answer questions and garner support. The City couldn’t spend tax dollars to campaign for the proposal, but private individuals and organizations could have. No one stepped forward to lead such an endeavor.

In other words, the vote seemed pretty well lost before anyone cast a ballot.

That doesn’t bode well for the water system or the city’s governance.

The election results of this year indicate voters don’t have a lot of faith in the city’s leadership.

That’s not a good thing.

Elected and appointed officials are serving at a critical time in the city’s history. Other municipalities in the region are gearing up and moving forward. Cape Girardeau could get left behind if its infrastructure and quality of life aren’t up to snuff. Municipal officials have difficult choices ahead, and they will need residents’ support to navigate the future.

How effective the City’s leadership is at regaining that support will determine whether the city progresses or stagnates.