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Councilor Zeta Govan asks departments for detailed budgets as property-tax concerns grow
Summary
At a brief July 13 meeting, the Springfield City finance committee requested detailed departmental budgets to examine options for limiting property-tax increases, citing a roughly $1,000,000,000 city budget and constituent frustration that casino-tax revenue has not reduced tax burdens.
Councilor Zeta Govan convened the Springfield City finance committee on July 13 to request detailed budgets from city departments and to begin a review aimed at slowing or avoiding further increases in property taxes.
"The only thing that is not going up is our income," Govan said, urging the committee to pursue fiscal accountability, transparency and ways to "mitigate the negative effects" of what she described as a $1,000,000,000 municipal budget. She said she had emailed finance, the Department of Public Works and planning and asked staff to supply line-item budgets for committee review.
Govan told the committee she understands the current budget has already been passed and that any immediate relief this year may be limited, but emphasized the committee's role in preparing options for the next fiscal year. She named several possible revenue sources to explore, including free cash, casino tax revenue and cannabis tax receipts, and said constituents had been promised casino-tax funds would help limit property taxes "and that hasn't happened yet."
Shane Dillon, a member of the fiscal accountability and budget review special committee, said local governments nationwide are feeling economic pressure and urged action. "People are hurting," Dillon said, arguing the city must seek both small and large changes to avoid an unsustainable status quo.
Govan closed the meeting after a short discussion and said the committee will reconvene within a couple of weeks once departmental budgets are received.
The meeting produced no motions or formal votes. The committee's next procedural step, as stated by Govan, is to collect detailed departmental budgets and schedule follow-up meetings with department staff to ask questions and explore options for reducing the tax burden on residents.
