Emanuel set to call for largest property tax hike in modern Chicago history

[alp227]

Source: Chicago Tribune

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is set to call for the largest property tax increase in modern Chicago history to raise enough money to make a major pension payment for police and firefighters next year, the mayor's City Council floor leader and a City Hall source told the Chicago Tribune late Wednesday.

The mayor also plans to push a new garbage collection tax, a new per-ride fee on taxis and ride-hailing services such as Uber and a new tax on electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, said the idea is to cut down on the annual budget hole that has plagued the city budget for years and further scale back some of the poor financial practices. That includes scoop-and-toss borrowing, in which the city takes debt that's coming due and kicks it out into the future at a higher cost. The administration also wants to put the police and fire pension systems on a road to solvency, he added.

The mayor is considering a property tax hike of between $450 million and $550 million for police and fire pensions, but he has yet to settle on a final number, a City Hall source said. O'Connor put the figure at $450 million for police and fire pensions, plus another $50 million for a Chicago Public Schools construction program. Aldermen would authorize the CPS property tax increase, and the Chicago Board of Education would approve it.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-property-tax-hike-met-0903-20150902-story.html

[left-of-center2012]

2. Well

You gotta do what you gotta do.
It's called fiscal responsibility.

[seabeckind]

3. Any bets on what entitities will be exempt? n/t