December 11, 2010
The Council passed Amendment CTL-1AM amending Amendment CTL-1, which was adopted on December 1 and amended Ordinance Calendar No. 28,185, to adjust the property tax millage rate for 2011 to 13.91 mills on the dollar of the assessed valuation of property. This marks an additional 1 mill increase from the original increase passed by the Council on December 1, bringing the total increase to 7.74 mills, 1 mill less than the 8.74 mill increase included in the original budget proposal.
On December 1, the Council adopted the 2011 Capital and Operating Budgets for the City of New Orleans. Revisions made by the Council to the original proposed budget included raising the property tax millage rate for 2011 6.74 mills and the sanitation service charge per residential unit from $12 per month to $20 per month. Additional revisions made by the Council include cuts in excess of $4 million and the addition of funds for critical services and departments.
Ordinances relative to additional increases in the sanitation service charge will be considered at the Regular City Council Meeting on January 6.
Raising taxes never leads to higher economic activity. With housing already crippled, raising property taxes is a further disincentive to buidling and renovating. Everyone in the real wolrd is cutting back. Why can’t government do the same. The sanitation charge goes up though new lesser priced contracts were negotiated, a good move, but why wasn’t that savings passed on to the citizens. Instead, the rate goes up. Now there will be less money for people to spend so sales tax revenue will go down. Has anyone figured out the net net of that?