Plenty of work ahead for Cape City Council

Spring is officially here in Cape Girardeau! As leaves fill out in the trees, flowers are blooming and the grass is greener, we all get to enjoy this wonderful seasonal change. I hope each of you get to be outside and enjoy our beautiful weather.

I want to offer congratulations to Cape Public Schools for the passage of their recent bond issue. Superintendent Dr. Neil Glass, his staff and the committee for Proposition Y should be commended for their efforts. It is great to know that the long-standing partnership between the district and our city will continue for not only the kids but for all of our citizens. Now we need to get down to the business of procuring more funding for both the capital and operational needs of a future aquatic facility.

Your city council had our annual retreat on Friday. It is an important part of what we do to plan for the future. As we review and finalize our capital improvement plan for the next five years, finish the budgetary process and envision the goals we need to accomplish, we are always striving to keep the citizens well informed.

We have decided that our city needs to renew our 1/4-cent Capital Improvement Tax that expires at the end of this year. I have also begun to formulate the committee that will review transportation needs desired to be included in TTF-6 which will be on the ballot in the Spring of 2020. And as a council, we need to begin to seek ways to solve the issue of our declining sales tax income as internet sales continue to increase. We were hoping the Missouri Legislature would solve this problem equitably statewide, but that does not look promising for the current legislative session.

Stay tuned to what is happening in the near future. Your city staff is working diligently to streamline the budget, to actually cut substantial expenses and be more efficient.

I might also mention that April 14-20 is Missouri Local Government Week, so I would encourage our community to thank our city and county employees for all that they do to make our lives better. We all often take for granted the services we receive and need to be thankful for all of the dedicated public employees who serve us in a daily basis. Please thank them for their service.

Bob Fox is the mayor of Cape Girardeau.