Going first class in small pieces

Are you a Cape Girardeau County resident?

You are?

This is a story about you.

You have been the resident of a first-class county since 1997, and there are certain privileges that go along with that.

For five straight years in the early 1990s, property in Cape Girardeau maintained a value great enough for the county to make the upgrade.

Mostly the change meant the county would have to rename or create a few positions, adjust the way records were filed and change the way budgets were processed. However, while county officials may be meeting the limitations of the statutes, the county has chosen not to do some things the statutes allow but don't require. In some cases, county officials may have decided not to do some things to save money. In other cases, residents voted against proposed changes.

Last week, the sheriff and three county commissioners -- the men in charge of how county taxes are spent -- had a gentlemen's disagreement over whether or not the commission should authorize two new officer positions. The four men haggled, compromised, worked out a deal and the sheriff got his men.

But the sheriff brought up a big-picture issue during the debate. He believes, and there is case law to back him up, that he should have authority over who in his department makes what salary.

The same statute applies to the county collector, the county clerk, the recorder of deeds and the prosecuting attorney. Some officeholders like having the commission determine salaries based on a scale. Others wish they had the authority to give salaries based on performance rather than just years on the job.

The sheriff's stance raised the question: Are there other areas where the county might not be living up to its first-class status?

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle produced a booklet in 1996 outlining the steps in the county's transition to first-class status. Although the sheriff's argument over payroll power is up for debate, it appears that the county government is going by the book on other matters regarding first-class status.

Following are some of the first-class options, which relates to counties without a charter form of government, like Cape Girardeau County.

Planning and zoning

If you have a trashy neighbor, you probably favor planning and zoning. This was one of the first major options brought to the forefront when the county heightened its status.

If you live outside the city limits of Cape Girardeau or Jackson -- which already has planning and zoning -- a county P&Z commission, in theory, would protect you from a farmer moving up wind to start up a pig farm. It would make rules so your neighbor couldn't start a junkyard next to your property or open up a strip club down the road. Zoning is intended to protect property value.

A P&Z commission could also tell you how to build your house. It could require you to meet certain rules for safety and appearance, just like builders must do in the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The lack of planning and zoning was brought up by a county resident at Thursday's commission meeting. Deborah Hohimer, who operates a child therapy center in Jackson, said she deals with children who may be living in unsafe conditions out in the county. She said she is afraid that some of the children may be living in houses with poor heat or faulty wiring. She asked Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones if the county could send someone out to inspect the homes.

He said the voters of Cape Girardeau County didn't want that.

The county commission wanted planning and zoning, but voters rejected the issue in 2000 by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Opponents argued that planning and zoning was more about intrusion than protection. Now, of the 14 first-class counties in the state, Cape Girardeau is one of only four counties without planning and zoning.

Salaries

Most of your tax dollars, in any government system, are spent on salaries and wages. Many elected officials got a substantial pay boost when Cape Girardeau County moved to first class.

Statutes provide for pay adjustments when a county moves from first to second class. Being first class carries more responsibilities. The statutes provide salary guidelines based on a county's value.

Once the salaries were settled, the prosecuting attorney got a raise of about $10,000, while the auditor, collector and recorder salaries were raised about $6,000 to $7,000.

The commission saw the biggest difference in this area.

As a result of the elevation to first class, the associate commissioners made $19,366 more per year and the presiding commissioner made $21,366 more. Today, the presiding commissioner makes $56,968 and the associate commissioners $54,968, almost double the salaries they made in 1998.

More than one county government official or employee has privately complained that the commissioners don't work a full-time schedule, that they're only there for their regular meetings on Mondays and Thursdays. The commissioners say that their work outside the office -- checking roads, attending legislative sessions or other county-related evening meetings -- makes up for their time away from the office.

Either way, the state laws do not limit work schedules. They only provide salary guidelines.

Speed limits

Perhaps you live in a subdivision just off a state highway and you see too many cars zip by your house at unsafe speeds.

Because you're a first-class resident, your county may establish speed limits on all public roads and highways in the unincorporated areas of the county, including state highways. Second-class counties may only post speed limit signs on county roads.

A defense lawyer in a Cape Girardeau County case recently made the argument that old county speed limits became void when the county went first class. Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle disagrees with that theory and says the old, second-class speed limits still apply.

Swingle said the county has not changed any speed limits since it became first class.

Transportation

If your car is in the shop or you have trouble driving, you may need to use public transit.

Residents of first-class counties are entitled a more organized transportation system.

In 2000, Cape Girardeau County took a step toward improved public transit by creating the Cape County Transit Authority, which has the power to organize and direct various transit providers. Only first-class counties can create transit authorities. And authorities can ask voters to approve transportation taxes.

The authority has more than tripled the number of trips it has offered since the county went first class in 1997. More than 15,000 people rode on one of the transit vans in 2003, up 10 percent from 2002.

Last week, the Missouri Department of Transportation sent out bid requests for an extensive transit study per the request of the authority. The study will attempt to find out the county's transit needs and how much residents might be willing to pay for public transportation.

Parks

If you see playground equipment and a shelter go up in Klaus Park soon, it's because the first-class statute got the park board going again.

The county's three parks -- Cape County Park North, Cape County Park South and Klaus Park -- are all in close proximity of the interstate.

First-class counties can have a five-to-seven member park board, while second-class counties can have a recreation commission made up of four members.

The Cape Grade County park board is seven members strong, with each member being appointed by the commission for four-year terms. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones says the park board has been much more active since the county went up to first class.

The park board didn't have much say in the $4.7 million conservation campus that is being built at Cape County Park North, board member Mary Miller said, but it has been involved in studying the effects of the nature center.

Recently, the park board submitted a five-year plan to the county commission. The park board found that the conservation campus eliminated a playground and a shelter and has suggested that Klaus Park be expanded.

Medical examiner

If you had someone close to you die because of an accident or under mysterious circumstances, you could have a person with a medical degree in charge of collecting evidence.

But it would come at a high cost.

The statutes require that all first-class counties have a medical examiner, but certain counties, like Cape Girardeau, have asked the state legislature for an exemption allowing them to continue with a coroner.

Cape Girardeau County has done so to save money, as much as $150,000 per year, according to Jones.

A medical examiner, as the name implies, is a medical doctor who would demand a doctor's salary. Cape Girardeau County has a part-time coroner, or at least a coroner who gets a part-time salary of $19,924. At a recent meeting, the commission discussed Coroner Mike Hurst's request to have his salary increased to a full-time salary based on an increased workload over the years.

The job description of a coroner and medical examiner is the same: They investigate all unnatural deaths and any death of a person younger than 18 years old. The coroners or medical examiners are then to make sure they secure the information and evidence necessary to prosecute a case. The county sends some autopsies to medical examiners in other counties.

Statutes allow counties to contract with medical examiners from other counties.

Purchasing agent

Currently, the county commission has no county administrator or purchasing agent, even though first-class counties may have one or both. In order to keep close tabs on spending, the Cape Girardeau County Commission's policy is to approve purchases of $150 or more even if the item has been budgeted.

A handful of county officials, including elected officers, say their job is more difficult because of this limitation.

At Thursday's regular meeting, Jones said he thinks the county has progressed to the point where it could really use an administrator, but a purchasing agent may be more fiscally practical.

During the budget process last year, the commission considered hiring a purchasing agent, one person who could organize purchases and buy items in bulk for all departments. But the budget was too tight, Jones said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635