By Hal Dardick – Chicago Tribune
Emanuel has proposed boosting yearly city property tax collections by $543 million over the next four years, with all of the new money earmarked for payments to city police and fire pension funds. It would be the biggest property tax increase in modern city history and boost individual overall property tax bills by about 12 percent.
But that amount still falls hundreds of millions of dollars short of what the city is required to pay under current state law. Instead, it’s based on what Emanuel hopes will soon be state law. The Democratic-led legislature approved a bill that would scale back the police and fire pension contribution increases, but have not sent the bill to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for fear that he would veto the measure as a tactical move in an ongoing partisan stalemate over the state budget.
Another part of the budget that has aldermen fretting is the mayor’s proposed $9.50-a-month fee for garbage collection on single-family homes, two flats and four flats. As part of an amended budget endorsed Monday by the Budget Committee, the $62.7 million the city expects to collect through those fees would be put in a separate budget fund, which Holt said would ensure all of the money is indeed going to pay for trash hauling.
Talks continue, Holt said, on limiting the fees at $9.50 a month for some undetermined period to assuage the fears of aldermen who don’t want to see those fees raised year after year. read more….