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Cape Girardeau Council To Consider Dropping Fire Tax, Making Other Taxes Permanent

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The Cape Girardeau City Council will consider some changes to three taxes that expire next year.

At a city council retreat last week, city manager Scott Meyer proposed allowing a 1/8 cent fire sales tax to expire. That tax funds about $650,000 per year for public safety.

His proposal calls for making the 4% Hotel/Motel gross receipts tax a permanent tax. That tax covers $600,000 per year for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He also suggested cutting the restaurant tax from 1% to 0.5%, and making that tax permanent. Those funds would replace the sun-setting fire tax.

Mayor Harry Rediger has reservations about trimming the restaurant tax.

“There’s going to be considerable debate among council over that issue, whether to keep it, cut it, or drop it in lieu of a future major project that at this point we do have in our immediate plans.”

The restaurant tax raises about $1.3 million per year and in the past has funded major projects like Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus, the Show Me Center, the Osage Center and the Shawnee Softball Complex.

Rediger says the city wants to look ahead and develop the appropriate strategy.

“It’s been in the council and staff’s position to look at these more holistically than just one item at a time so we can have a plan to set forth to the citizens,” Rediger said.

Voters must approve the tax proposals. They come at a time the city is seeing revenue coming in from the casino. That money is dedicated to specific projects and is not used to fund ongoing expenses.

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