Property Tax Increase Vs. Sales Tax Increase, Mandate Vs. Choice

It had to happen sooner or later, and it always seems to happen sooner. The City of Naperville needs money and they are going to get it one way or another; either higher property tax or increase in sales tax. When the dust settled at the last Naperville city council meeting, the council voted to increase the home rule sales tax from 0.5% to 0.75% for a total of 7.75%. That means the City of Naperville still has an opportunity, over time, to increase it another 92.25%, and in actuality it doesn’t have to stop there. ‘He who has the gold makes the rules, and Naperville city officials have the gold’.

The vote was 8 to 1 in favor of raising the sales tax, rather than increasing property tax. The one ‘no’ vote was councilman John Krummen, not because he didn’t want the sales tax increase, but because he preferred raising property taxes. Watch and listen as Krummen explains that he would be affected more by a property tax hike than a bump in sales tax, but he is OK with that because his assets have grown dramatically.

Well dilly dilly for Krummen. His assets are more than most of ours, he can happily afford higher property taxes, and let those less fortunate than him, especially senior citizens living on a fixed income, take a big hit. Out with the old folks and in with the millennials. Enough said for Krummen’s compassion for those of us with less.

Watch and listen to Mayor Steve Chirico’s 180 degree, opposing viewpoint to Krummen:

Either way, the good folks are going to have less money than they have now, but Krummen’s support of a property tax hike would be a mandate, no getting around it, whereas Chirico and the other seven members of the council are at least allowing folks the opportunity of choice.

I’m guessing the Founding Fathers would prefer choice over mandate.