Cape Girardeau County commissioners approve property tax rate changes

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy and his fellow commissioners received and presented numerous reports during their Monday, Sept. 9, regular meeting. They also approved additional payments toward the county's courthouse and jail construction projects.

Southeast Missourian file

The Cape Girardeau County commissioners held a public hearing to set tax rates for taxing entities during their Monday, Sept. 9, meeting.

The changed property tax rates were for general revenue funding, mental health funding, senior citizen services and the developmentally disabled fund.

The proposed rate changes would, assuming 100% collection, see budget increases of about $10,000 for senior services, $29,000 for mental health funding and $17,000 for the county’s developmentally disabled fund. The general revenue funding would decrease some $20,000 because of a reduced property tax rate.

The commissioners approved all property tax rate changes.

County clerk recognized

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers was awarded the 2024 Rosemary Plitt Award at the annual conference of the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities on Thursday, Sept. 5, in St. Louis County.

“It was a true honor to accept it, on behalf of really all the people who run elections in Missouri because we’re all doing the job to make sure voters have the ability to have their voice heard and are able to vote in these elections,” Summers said.

A committee of county clerks and election officials picked by the Missouri secretary of state’s office chooses each year’s recipient. Award winners are recognized for outstanding contributions and dedication to the electoral process for the voters of Missouri.

Sample ballot situation

Summers informed the commissioners about the sample ballot procedure for the general election Tuesday, Nov. 5. Several ballot amendments are under litigation, she said, and with the deadline for finalizing those set for Tuesday, Sept. 10, the finished sample ballots would not be ready until later this week or early next week.

Conservation agreement

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said the county had been awarded a Missouri Department of Conservation grant. This grant would reimburse the county for 50% of the cost, up to $100,000, for engineering services to create a plan to prevent the North County Park Lake from leaking.

Pay requests granted

The commissioners also approved pay requests for their ongoing 1908 courthouse and new jail wing construction projects. The courthouse request was for $716,343.18 out of the county’s capital funds and the jail request was for $2,012,568.48 out of bond funds.

Penzel Construction of Jackson is overseeing both projects.