Cape should prioritize funds

In today’s economy, it’s understandable why the majority of voters were reluctant to support a tax increase to fund public safety wage increases. So, what’s next?

The good news is with creative financial management, the city could generate a substantial amount of savings in the General Fund to finance wage increases for our public safety employees.

These savings would be created if several nonessential items that are not self-funding were eliminated, and casino dollars were used to fund some of the city’s remaining nonessential facilities, programs and services. The definition of nonessential meaning city wants not needs.

Yes, it would be inconvenient, if, in the future, casino revenue was insufficient to fund some of these nonessential items. It would also be inconvenient if some of the wants had to be reduced or eliminated due to the lack of casino dollars.

But this inconvenience wouldn’t keep the city from providing essential facilities, programs and services. These needs would continue to be funded with sustainable revenue. Some of the wants would just have to wait.

As a community, is funding our wants more important than paying reasonable wages to our public safety employees? Hopefully, most of us would choose to fund public safety wages!

I encourage our elected officials to eliminate several nonessential items and use casino dollars to fund some of the city’s remaining nonessential facilities, programs and services in next year’s budget.

The savings created in the General Fund could then be used to increase public safety wages!

GARY HILL, Cape Girardeau