Cape City Council seeks input on capital improvements program

Cape Girardeau residents will get a chance to give their input on a plan to approve the latest version of a capital improvements program for 2013 through 2018 at today's city council meeting.

City officials met in January to review a first draft of the program, which provides a road map of sorts for improvement and maintenance projects during a five-year period in three categories: transportation, environment and capital improvements. The city's charter requires a capital improvements program be adopted by the city council before April 1 as part of a long-range strategic plan.

The public hearing will be held during the regular portion of today's 7 p.m. city council meeting. The entire capital improvements program can be viewed online at www.cityofcapegirardeau.org.

City staff worked with each of the city's departments to identify projects that are included in the program.

Funding for projects comes from a variety of sources, including revenue from sales taxes, city-operated businesses, grants, tax levies and reserve balances.

Some revenue, such as money collected through voter-approved Transportation Trust Funds and parks and stormwater sales taxes, may be used only for improvement projects in those specific categories.

This five-year program contains $67.9 million in proposed projects that can be funded with existing and anticipated revenue and around $150 million in unfunded projects, or projects that fall into the "contingent program," and can't be paid for without the continuation of existing sales tax revenue.

City manager Scott Meyer said several taxes that provide revenue for the city are, for that reason, on city officials' radar for possible extension efforts, which voters would need to approve.

"We've got three lined up here between now and the end of 2015 that are important taxes to look at," Meyer said.

First is the city's hotel/motel/restaurant tax, which pays for bonds issued for construction of the River Campus at Southeast Missouri State University and funds the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city expects the bonds to be paid off in 2014, which would end collection of a portion of the tax.

A fire sales tax that helps with funding for capital improvements will sunset at the end of 2014 and a Transportation Trust Fund tax that pays for projects such as street upgrades and repairs is set to expire in 2015.

Meyer said the existing tax revenue pays for capital expenditures such as new fire trucks, which aren't necessarily the most visible to the public, but necessary for the city to operate efficiently.

Members of the city council can make changes to the capital improvements program before they vote on a resolution. The vote will be during one of two council meetings in March.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.