The city’s Finance Committee voted 6-0 today to leave the city’s millage rate at 8.48, rejecting Mayor John Peyton’s quest to raise property taxes 12 percent. Peyton says the millage increase is necessary to fill a $50-million hole in the city budget. Peyton has already identified $40-million in cuts and without the tax increase to raise $50-million in revenue, he has said, libraries, community centers, fire houses, and the city’s rape crisis center would probably close.

City Council member William Bishop said he voted to leave the millage rate where it is because it will force the city “to get serious about what is is spending money upon.”

“We won’t be able to raise the millage without going through a lot of hoops, a lot of serious, extensive analysis of where we can cut,” he said. “If we have to ultimately raise the tax rate, we’ll be able to tell people this is what we did and this is what we are going to need to be able to run the city.”

But it will cost the city an additional $200,000 if the full City Council votes with the Finance Committee and rejects the mayor’s tax increase. The city would be require to notice all property owners of the proposed millage hike. Mayor Peyton suggested the council vote for the increase and then reduce the millage if they find places to cut the budget. That would save the $200,000 noticing fee. But Bishop said $200,000 is nothing in a $1-billion budget.

“This is an insurance policy,” he said. “We will be held accountable for every cent that we spend.” If City Council raises the millage rate first and then tries to make cuts, he says, there will always be a raft of reasons why a program or a job shouldn’t be cut. “This forces us out of that box,” said Bishop.

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