Alderman Ward 1 Louis Raineri proposed a law enforcement sales tax on July 7 to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot in Cuba.

He said he didn’t like the decision he had to make on June 23 to not hire a K9 officer, but the city doesn’t have enough money at the moment. In his research, Raineri found that nearby counties and cities like Gasconade County and Steelville have passed a law enforcement sales tax.

“You know law enforcement is not usually a revenue generator,” Raineri said.

With advances in technology, Raineri figures it costs more to run a police department now than it did in the past. His first proposal was to place a quarter-cent law enforcement sales tax on the ballot.

Comptroller Jennifer Basham said at that tax rate, it would generate about $220,000 per year for law enforcement.

Alderman Ward 3 Jeff Bouse asked if a quarter-cent was enough, but Raineri said that it’s a good place to start.

Alderman Ward 2 Russell Crocker was concerned about that because the city would have to pay more money to put a law enforcement sales tax on the ballot. Alderman Ward 3 Joyce Hartzell asked if proposing a half-cent sales tax would be too much.

A motion to put a half-cent law enforcement sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot was approved with a 6-0 vote.

City Attorney Emily Guffey said that the board of aldermen needed to provide an expiration for the law enforcement sales tax should it pass. While the city of Cuba typically puts a 10-year expiration on proposed taxes, Alderman Ward 1 Ray Mortimeyer said they should set it at 5-years.

Raineri said that five years will give the city some time to bring the budget back into better shape, so they can reevaluate then.

A motion to put a 5-year expiration on the law enforcement sales tax, should it pass, was approved with a 6-0 vote.

In other business, a motion to accept the resignation of Anastyn Hiatt as an animal care attendant (ACA) was accepted with a 6-0 vote. To fill the position, Police Chief Doug Shelton wanted to advertise for it. A motion to advertise an animal care attendant position was approved with a 6-0 vote.

Shelton also wanted to promote ACA Sarah Butler to a supervisor position with a pay of $18 an hour.

Basham said that moving Butler to that position wasn’t predetermined, so it was not put in the budget. But, as Hartzell noted, when the previous supervisor retired, one position was going to be taken away and Butler was going to be put in the supervisor position.

A motion to promote Butler to the ACA supervisor position was approved with a 6-0 vote.