Don’t Like the Message? Don’t Blame the Interpreter!

 

There’s an ongoing debate in Neosho’s world of politics as to the planned uses of the city’s voter-approved Economic Development sales tax.  Some want to spend it.  Some want to save it.  But it boils down to a two-fold issue: WHAT CAN it be used for and the WHAT SHOULD it be used for.  To get from point A (what can) to point B (what should), I’ve taken the approach of starting at A and then working toward B (vs. the other way around).  While it seems logical to me, some aren’t so happy.

The tax, last approved by voters around 1995 is authorized by state statute.  Specifically, it was passed by Neosho voters using the statute found under Chapter 94 Section 94.577 of the Missouri Revised Statutes.  (If you want to look it up, you can on the www.moga.mo.gov site.)  While the current online section varies slightly from what it read in 1995, nothing material has changed to affect its application here.  (I know what because I’ve spent several hours since April researching each of the city’s taxes to ensure we were using them correctly.  This included several faxes, email, and phone calls to Jefferson City requesting a number of documents.)

The debate begins with the current administration taking a cautious approach on interpreting the statute that enables the city to collect the voter-approved tax.  It reads, in part, that the tax “…shall be used solely for capital improvements….”  Now I’m a fairly capable guy when it comes to basic interpretation of the law and the use of common sense.  It doesn’t take a PhD from Harvard to know what “shall” and “solely” mean.  The word “capital improvements” is also fairly straight forward.  I’ve said recently in a local newspaper that the meaning (of the statute) was “pretty clear”.  The city attorney used similar language in the same article saying it was “pretty obvious”.  Either way, it think the city has done the “right” thing to be conservative on its approach in using the funds moving forward.

One negative consequence of the decision (combined with other fiscal issues in the city) was the termination of the city’s Economic Development contract with the local chamber of commerce.  It was an unfortunate happening as losing that “ED” focus could make Neosho less able to compete for industries and other businesses looking to expand in the 4-state area.  But given the alternatives, i.e. more cuts in areas such as police and fire, we didn’t really have a choice.  (To clarify, I believe all of the city’s ED committee understood the reasons and supported the city’s decision to cut the Chamber contract.)

But what is more concerning to me now is that some have hopes that the city will at some point “change its interpretation” of the statute to allow for a great flexibility in the fund’s use.  Say what?  How do you “change” the interpretation of seven words that seem so clear in their intended meaning?   Isn’t that a little disingenuous?

Well, for the record, I stand by the city’s interpretation of the statute.  The city administration and the council will work through the fallout.  Eventually, we’ll be back on track to be able to do more with the resources we have.  But for now, we’ve got to get a firm hold on doing what is necessary to protect the city’s remaining services and resources until this economic slow-down passes.

I’ll leave you with the full version of my quotes related to this issue that appeared this week in the Joplin Globe.  Like the statue, I think they are “pretty clear”.

Excerpts from the November 25th Joplin Globe article:

Mayor Richard Davidson said the current financial situation has raised “little immediate support” for any economic project that requires the city to incur additional long-term debt. “To me, there are simply too many uncertainties in the current economic climate right now,” the mayor wrote in an email response to questions. “We need to see some good news on job growth along with increases in consumer confidence before such projects become a priority. Today, we’re simply not there.”

“Good or bad, you have a statute that is pretty clear in what you can and can’t do with the revenue,” he said. “This council is simply working to make sure we comply with the restrictions we are given by the state. I’m not happy about not funding the chamber contract, but I think it was the responsible thing to do given the circumstances. Other basic services in the city were a priority.”