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Last month, the mayor introduced the budget that includes a
monthly tax of $25 per worker on businesses with 125 or more
employees.
The plan raises the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax from
15% to 20% and the sports betting tax from 10.25% to 20%.
It also includes a 15-cent tax on non-medical and non-food
containers and packages.
The letter from the city council’s Budget Accountability
Coalition reminded Johnson they would not vote for a tax on
jobs, the increase in the PPLT tax or new spending.
The $17.6 billion proposal is up from the current $16.7 billion
city budget.
“This version of your budget is a non-starter,” the letter said.
The mayor responded by saying he would not balance the budget
off the backs of working people.
“No one has come up with a viable solution other than saying
what they do not want, and so people have to come to the table
saying what they do want,” Johnson said on Tuesday.
A reporter asked the mayor how he would approach the situation.
“I’m going to approach it the way I approach every circumstance
and matter in this city, collaboratively,” Johnson said.
Alderman Gilbert Villegas said the mayor’s proposal looks at
revenue instead of efficiencies or right-sizing government.
“There's been a lot of pushback from the council because there
hasn't been a lot of collaboration, despite the fact that the
mayor said he's the collaborator-in-chief,” Villegas told The
Center Square.
Johnson said 97% or 98% of the budget he proposed last year was
implemented.
The mayor did not sign or veto the budget passed by aldermen
after they rejected his 2025 proposal, which also included a
corporate head tax.
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