Overview
- City Council voted 12-3 to maintain the rate at 52 cents per $100 of valuation, with Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas absent.
- Keeping the rate unchanged leaves a $128.5 million budget gap and requires using $53 million from savings, leaving roughly $300 million in reserves, according to officials.
- Fiscal projections show a $227 million shortfall next fiscal year that could grow to about $463 million by 2030 without new revenue or deeper cuts.
- Mayor John Whitmire rejected tax hikes for now, said a plan exists but offered no details, emphasized efficiency measures, and ruled out a garbage fee.
- Under a voter-imposed cap, the city could have raised property tax collections by about 4% without a public vote; the controller warned reserves are at risk and outlined fee and tax options worth roughly $200 million annually.