Mayor Rahm Emanuel will propose a property tax hike between $450M and $500M when he unveils his 2016 budget to the City Council. Although the mayor has yet to settle on a final number, 40th Ward Ald. Patrick O'Connor, Emanuel's floor leader on the Council, set the number at $450M. If the budget passes, the property tax hike would be the largest in modern Chicago history. A property tax hike was not unexpected. Although Rahm promised during his re-election campaign a post-election property tax hike would not happen, 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin told reporters in March one was likely. The proposed hike would add an average of $700 to tax bills on homes worth $250k.
The property tax hike is necessary for the city to meet a $600M payment to shore up police and firefighters pensions. Other fee hikes in the mayor's budget include a tax on e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, a new garbage collection tax, and a $1 per ride surcharge on ridesharing services like Uber. During the mayoral election, the pro-Emanuel Super PAC Chicago Forward accused candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia of helping to pass the largest property tax hike in history when Garcia was an alderman during Harold Washington's time as mayor. The largest property tax hike in the city's history was an $83.7M increase passed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2007. [Trib]
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