City Beat: Council approves sales tax ballot item

Springfield voters will decide the fate of a 1-cent sales tax increase that city officials say is necessary to sustain the ailing Police and Fire Pension Plan.

Springfield City Council unanimously approved a ballot issue at its Nov. 24 meeting that will ask voters for the tax on the Feb. 4 ballot to meet the $194 million shortfall in the pension plan. If approved, the tax would sunset after five years or when the pension plan reaches full funding, whichever comes first.

Both the Springfield Police Officers Association and Firefighters Union Local 152 endorsed the plan.

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky said during the meeting that current economic conditions make it difficult to ask for additional money, but she made an impassioned plea to voters to approve the new tax. She reiterated that each day the pension plan remains underfunded, the city's obligation grows by $33,000.

"Nobody in their right mind wants to go to the public and say, 'We need a sales tax, so how about forking it up?'" Rushefsky said. "Unfortunately, we have no choice. We've done everything we can reasonably do to make the pension plan work. The only way it's going to survive is if we have this sales tax."

Councilwoman Mary Collette also addressed the worry of some citizens that the city would use the sales tax money for other purposes, though she noted that specific council actions such as additional city contributions to the pension plan cannot be added to the ballot language itself.

"I feel like whatever council needs to do to make it perfectly clear to the community that what is being presented is our intention, I'm certainly willing to do," Collette said. "If we need an additional ordinance, we should do that."

City Manager Greg Burris has said that in addition to the sales tax, his plan to fix the pension plan also calls for increased contributions by both the city and police officers and firefighters, as well as a contribution of at least $10 million from an expected court settlement with several telecommunications companies.

Outdoor entertainment

Council also passed an ordinance creating a new permit process for live or amplified outdoor entertainment downtown, though the vote was far from unanimous.

City staff and bill proponents said the bill would allow businesses in center city zoning district to provide outdoor entertainment except during the overnight hours. Councilman Dan Chiles called the bill a logical next step for the revitalization of center city.

"This is the reasonable step a city uses to try to accommodate social change," Chiles said. "Ten years ago when no one was in the square, who cared how loud the music was? But now what we see is a mixed use - mixing commercial and residential use. Each one has privileges and responsibilities."

Opponents argue that the bill would be an unfair restriction by only allowing those with permits to have outdoor entertainment of any kind in center city. Rushefsky, who along with Councilman Doug Burlison opposed the bill, said it unduly restricts free expression on the square, which she called "the city's front porch."

"This is not a private park for the benefit of the businesses along that downtown square," she said. "It's where people go to do their thing. If they're a nuisance because they're too loud, we need a noise ordinance. But we can't turn the public square into a private park for the benefit of only those people who can pay for it."