Sunset Hills voters will consider a permanent extension of an existing half-cent, capital-improvement sales tax when they go to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The sales tax was approved by voters in 1994 when they were asked to “Say Yes” to fund a more than $5.7 million bond issue for City Hall repairs, a new police station, a new public works building and street improvements, among other items.

The Aug. 7 ballot language asks voters if the city should continue to impose the half-cent sales tax for the purpose of funding capital improvements and paying the costs of operation and maintenance of those capital improvements.

Because the sales tax is tied to a bond issue, restrictions exist on how revenue from it can be used. For example, for every dollar the city wants to spend from the capital-improvement tax for street improvements, 57 cents must be appropriated from general revenue. As a result, a surplus has accumulated in the capital-improvement fund because the city has been unable to match the sales-tax revenue with general revenue.

If the bonds are retired, the tax would end unless voters elect to extend it.

Approval of the ballot measure will eliminate the matching provision.

As some may recall, an 11-member Revenue Review Committee appointed by Mayor Bill Nolan recommended aldermen place the extension of the sales tax on the April 3 ballot.

As a result of what can only be termed back-room political maneuvering, an ordinance that would have placed the measure on the April ballot failed to receive a second reading in January, effectively killing it.

But what a difference an election makes. Since the April election, some of the newly seated aldermen have reinvigorated the board with a fresh perspective on citywide issues.

Given the economy, it would be extremely difficult to support the imposition of any kind of a new tax on residents. But the proposition on the Aug. 7 ballot seeks the extension of a sales tax that has been collected for about 16 years and now comprises roughly 12.5 percent of the city’s budget.

Some have voiced concerns the extension is a permanent one with no sunset provision. But City Attorney Robert E. Jones noted last week that aldermen have the authority to reduce the percentage of the sales tax or suspend its collection if they so desire.

Taking into account all of the facts, we urge Sunset Hills voters to “Say Yes” again and approve the sales-tax extension. It just makes sense.