Overview
- The 24-member panel chaired by Jim Reynolds and Karen Freeman-Wilson released an roughly 80-page report offering a consensus list of 89 revenue and cost-saving ideas, with members given broad data access and no mayoral veto.
- If fully implemented, the recommendations could yield roughly $1 billion to $2.1 billion, though outlets reported differing aggregate tallies of potential impact.
- Big-ticket options include raising the $9.50 monthly garbage fee (estimated $20 million to nearly $300 million), expanding rideshare surcharges (up to $103 million), and increasing liquor taxes ($60 million to $120 million).
- The report also proposes tying property taxes to inflation for about $56 million next year, extending a hiring freeze that could save $143 million to $161 million, and operational changes such as new ambulance fees and slimming specialized police units.
- Several measures would need state approval or union bargaining, and early reactions at City Hall include warnings against letting the report sit unused and opposition from the Budget Committee chair to a higher garbage fee.