CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The latest version of Mayor Johnson's proposed Chicago budget for next year has a smaller planned property tax increase, but increases in fees for everything from video streaming services to vehicle stickers.
Now, aldermen are weighing in, three and a half weeks before a budget must be approved.
Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago City Council have until the end of the month to pass a budget.
Friday, the mayor’s administration started briefing members on a nearly $234 million package of taxes, fines and fees, including a $68.5 million property tax increase.
“A lot of it is just nickel and diming residents and is not really going to the core of right-sizing government at a time when you’ve seen government’s budget increase by at least 50 percent over the last five years,” Northwest Side Alderman Gilbert Villegas told WBBM.
The package outlined, among other things, includes increasing the parking tax at garages and valet services as well as an increase to the bag tax.
Villegas said the newest proposal is still bloated.
"At a time when you're seeing a triannual reassessment, and we're still dealing with the impact of inflation, it's just tough for citizens of the City of Chicago, homeowners in the City of Chicago, renters in the City of Chicago, to burden anymore," Villegas added.
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