Mayor cuts property tax hike in new budget plan

After canceling Friday's budget vote due to a lack of alder support, Mayor Brandon Johnson has presented a new plan that cuts his, once $300 million, property tax hike to zero, according to sources close to the talks.

Why it matters: The proposal eliminates the property tax hike through, among other things, staff cuts that Johnson had vehemently opposed but alders wanted.

• It's a flex for one of the most emboldened City Councils in recent history, but also a move that could earn the mayor the 26 votes he needs to pass the budget Monday, just two weeks before the state-mandated deadline.

By the numbers: The new plan still calls for $165.5 million in new taxes—down from $243 million in the previous plan.

• But it also offers up $44.9 million in "expenditure cuts" including a $1 million reduction in the mayor's office staff and $2.8 million in middle management cuts.
• The mayor further proposes to find $23.6 million in "operational efficiencies."

New revenue: The plan includes a $10 million "cost recovery initiative" that pursues reimbursement from big event organizers for millions in overtime the city pays to police, fire, sanitation, transportation and emergency management workers.

• It seeks another $40 million in savings by spreading out debt payments for the city's purchase of land formerly occupied by Michael Reese Hospital.

What they're saying: The mayor's office did not respond to Sunday requests for comment, but 15 conservative alders released a letter to Johnson asking for more cuts including the "elimination of the office of vice mayor."

• They called the latest proposal, "a collection of reconfigured savings, recalibrated revenue projections and deferred payments that ultimately will serve as a delayed backdoor property tax increase."

What we're watching: If the budget can still pass without the votes of these 15 dissenting alders.

• And if a finalized city budget will hasten progress on the Chicago Teachers Union's drawn-out contract talks.