After Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio’s resounding victory in the recent election, the city of Phoenix will hold public hearings to gather input from the community on proposed solutions to reduce the 2 percent emergency sales tax on food to 1 percent effective Jan. 1, 2014, without reducing services to the community. The remaining 1 percent will expire as planned in March 2015.
DiCiccio made the elimination of the regressive food tax and pension spiking the cornerstone of his campaign.
The proposed solutions are in response to the City Council’s direction to reduce the emergency sales tax on food beginning Jan. 1, 2014 with no reductions to city services; no negative impact to public safety; no negative impact to the city’s AAA bond rating, and public hearings to discuss the options.
After receiving public input at six community hearings to be held from Sept. 9 – 16, the city manager will present the proposed solutions along with public input to the City Council at their Policy meeting on Sept. 24. Five additional public hearings will be held from Sept. 26 – Oct. 3, and the City Council is expected to vote on whether to adopt an ordinance to reduce the emergency sales tax on food on Oct. 16. If approved, the reduction will take effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Residents can view details of the proposal at www.phoenix.gov. Questions can be submitted to budget.research@phoenix.gov or by calling 602-262-4800.
City Council members and city management will provide information on the proposal and answer questions at the following public hearings to be held at locations in various parts of the city:
◾2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9
Madison School District,
District Office Board Room,
5601 N. 16th St.
◾6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9,
Goelet A.C. Beuf Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
3435 W. Pinnacle Peak Road
◾6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10,
Paradise Valley Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
17402 N. 40th St.
◾5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12,
Verde Community Center,
916 E. Van Buren St.
◾6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, Bilingual (Spanish/English),
Maryvale Community Center,
Auditorium,
4420 N. 51st Ave.
◾5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16,
South Mountain Community College Library,
7050 S. 24th St.
◾6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26,
Cesar Chavez High School,
Cafeteria,
3921 W. Baseline Road
◾6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30,
Paradise Valley Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
17402 N. 40th St.
◾6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, Bilingual (Spanish/English),
Desert West Community Center,
6501 W. Virginia Ave.
◾6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2,
Sunnyslope Community Center,
802 E. Vogel Ave.
◾6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3,
Yucca Library,
5648 N. 15th Ave.