'No Property Tax Hike,' Residents Tell Deb Mell at 33rd Ward Town Hall

IRVING PARK — Constituents held Ald. Deb Mell's feet to the fire at a 33rd Ward town hall meeting Monday night, demanding the alderman stick to a campaign pledge to vote "no" on any budget that included a property tax hike.

"What we're all saying is, 'This budget isn't good enough,' " said resident John Olsen. "You told us ... your constituents ... you would vote against this budget."

Mell responded: "I am working with colleagues, weighing all the options. We're still having budget hearings. As soon as I make a decision, I'll let you know."

Approximately 50 people attended the town hall, held at Horner Park. They uniformly slammed Mayor Rahm Emanuel's budget for relying too heavily on a property tax increase and fees for services like garbage collection rather than exploring other revenue sources.

"The mayor's options are ... cut services or raise money on the backs of the middle class," said Sean O'Torain, who argued for a financial transaction tax.

"Put the other options on the table, put it on the wealthy — the Board of Trade, the exchanges," he said. "They got off with murder the last decades. They won't be starving."

Pet projects of the mayor's, particularly the planned DePaul University basketball arena and Marriott hotel, came under fire as well for seemingly placing the interests of tourists/conventioneers over neighborhoods.

"How is the city being more fiscally responsible?" questioned Stephanie Fishel. "Sorry, you can't have a hotel. I'm saying this directly to City Hall, 'Quit spending money on things we don't need right now.'"

A number of residents called for the city to put an end to Tax Increment Financing districts, which annually remove approximately $400 million from Chicago's revenue bucket.

"Why are we still collecting downtown TIFs? Those are giant pots of money," said Erin Farlow. "We can't afford teachers but we can afford construction in Lincoln Park?"

Kathryn Pensack pointed out that San Francisco eliminated TIFs and went from being in the red to being in the black.

"Stop giving [TIF dollars] to Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and Marriott," she said. "We really need to put our money into our education system and we're not doing it."

Mell agreed that TIFs had "gotten off track" and said she would support a moratorium on TIFs.

Ben Winick, the head of the independent budget office, was on hand to field questions alongside Mell.

He noted that the city's entire 2015 TIF haul would only plug a fraction of Chicago's budget hole.

Likewise, suggestions for a luxury tax and a call to increase the fee downtown businesses pay for sidewalk cafe permits wouldn't make enough of a dent in an $800 million pension payment that's due now, Winick said.

"You're right on cafes — there's room to grow there. And a luxury tax is something to go after," he said. "But at the end of the day, that's not going to close the gap."

Mell acknowledged that residents were being asked to pay for decades of mismanagement and irresponsible fiscal practices.

"No one in the city of Chicago will go unscathed," she said. "You all deserve better."

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: