News release from the Crawford for City Council At-Large campaign:
John Crawford Proposes Local Property Tax Freeze
(September 7, 2011) – Republican At-Large City Council candidate Dr. John Crawford today proposed a freeze on local property taxes for the next12 to 24 months.
“I think we should keep property taxes as low as possible,” Dr. Crawford told reporters.”With a cash balance on hand and millions more coming from the recent settlement with I&M, there is no urgent need for the City of Fort Wayne to raise taxes. With unemployment above 9%, many Fort Wayne residents have urgent needs.
As an At-Large Council member in 2007, Dr. Crawford helped pass a $3.7 million property tax cut. The Henry administration tried to reverse that tax cut, claiming dire consequences would follow.
“The world did not end because of that property tax cut. In fact, the cash balance of thecity has since risen up to $24 million in the 2011 budget,” Dr. Crawford said.
Dr. Crawford also made these points:
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[li]Local property taxes must be kept as low as possible to encourage economic activity and job growth.[/li]
[li]Limiting property taxes helps keep government spending on a diet, narrowing its focus to the most essential city services.[/li]
[li]The $75-million in the I&M light lease Legacy Fund is a reserve against which the city can draw to cope with unexpected expenses.[/li]
[/list]“Keeping property taxes low makes Fort Wayne a more attractive city for new development. Keeping more money in citizen’s hands to invest will be the best thing wecan do to boost economic activity and job growth in Fort Wayne,” says Dr. Crawford.
The Crawford for City Council At-Large website
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