City budget director Alexandra Holt (speaking at yesterday's budget hearings at City Hall) said Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed $544M property tax hike is unavoidable but will be phased in over the next four years.

Holt testified during Finance Committee hearings and laid the blame for the unpopular tax increase squarely on a looming $600M balloon payment to the city's police and firefighters pensions next year. Emanuel lobbied the Illinois Legislature for years for relief from the payment, to no avail. Holt told the Finance Committee the city is obligated to make those payments, unless Springfield intervenes.

The Finance Committee chair, Ald Ed Burke (14th), agreed with Holt and said state law mandates the payment be made. The property tax levy (which is based on 10% of a residential housing assessment, and 25% of a commercial property's value), is set to increase 37.7% next year, to $1.2B. After that, the levy will increase another 9.2% in 2016, 4.1% in 2017 and 4.7% in 2018, to $1.4B. Holt believes the average homeowner property tax bill would increase 12.2% if Gov. Bruce Rauner signs an expanded homeowners exemption into law. [DNA]