But Brown and several other council members are considering blocking the tax increase, which could lead to deeper cuts and set up a showdown with Gray and liberal council members who say the city’s wealthiest residents are not paying their fair share.
According to some council members, opponents of Gray’s proposal to raise the income tax rate from 8.5 to 8.9 percent for those earning $200,000 or more are one vote shy of the majority needed to remove the plan from the budget.
Brown, who as chairman has tremendous influence in shaping the final proposal members will vote on in late May, did not respond to a request for comment.
But several council members stressed that the proposed tax increase is one of several issues that could divide a body still reeling from recent ethics controversies involving Brown and Gray.
“It’s very fluid,” said council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who opposes raising the income tax. “What kind of cuts are we going to restore, and what kind of taxes are we going to reject? And if we restore cuts and reject taxes, where are we going to get the money to do that?”
Gray’s income tax proposal would generate about $40 million annually. Removing it from the budget, advocates and some council members say, could further strain social and human service programs.
Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), chairman of the Committee on Human Resources, said he is struggling to find additional money in the budget for homeless services and mental health programs, both of which take big hits under Gray’s proposal.
If additional resources are not found, Graham said, all city-funded homeless shelters will have to close — including those designated for families — except on days of sub-freezing weather. “All those babies will be back to the stairwells, corners and cars,” he said. “There would be nothing beyond the freezing dates.”
Graham, a leading supporter of raising taxes on wealthier residents, said he also will urge his colleagues to come up with more money to improve security at Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services detention centers. Several juvenile offenders have escaped in recent weeks.
“We are at a fault line, I fear,” Graham said of the pending fight.
Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, said the council also needs to come up with $13 million more to avoid reductions in city bus service.
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