Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget passed the City Council on Monday, but only by an extremely narrow margin. NBC Chicago’s Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern reports.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget passed the City Council on Monday, but only by an extremely narrow margin.
The final vote came in at 27-23 in favor of the proposal, capping off months of vigorous debate, fierce criticism and a series of proposals that finally yielded results just two weeks before the end of the year.
Johnson’s original budget proposal called for a property tax hike of approximately $300 million, but that eventually was removed from the budget entirely as part of the negotiations to arrive at a solution.
The newest budget included spending reductions and adjustments to city staffing, while also including a $40 million short-term loan that was blasted by the mayor’s critics, who had called for more decisive action to prevent future issues with the proposal.
According to the budget, the city will trim 10 positions from Johnson’s office, and will reduce staffing in middle management roles. Other moves to “improve efficiency” in security and energy spending were also included in the proposal.
The budget also included plans to add millions in additional revenues via upping taxes on personal property leases, adding additional taxes on downtown parking, and increasing taxes on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, among others.
In the lead-up to the vote, the mayor was blasted by multiple members of the City Council for his administration’s approach to the budget negotiations, with several arguing that Johnson’s actions would have negative consequences for transparency and for public trust in city government.
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Ald. Bill Conway, who voted against the budget, said the city “can’t ask working families to pay more,” and that Johnson is risking serious issues by not considering additional spending cuts.
“There were additional efficiencies to consider but unfortunately, Mayor Johnson repeated some of the same mistakes of those before him by being unable to make hard choices and kicking the can down the road even further,” he said in a statement. “This budget process was characterized by unsuccessful sweeteners, unnecessary delays, and proposals that, as the Mayor put it, were just meant to ensure we were paying attention.”
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