AFSCME Members Rally to Support Tax on Food
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by AFSCME Local 2960 in Budget, News
On Tuesday, February 4th, the City Council voted 6 to 3 to approve a 2% sales tax on food items purchased within the City of Phoenix. This needed revenue stream places an estimated 12 million dollars back into the budget for the fiscal year 2010.
It is likely that the sales tax will save several hundred jobs over the next few months as budget negotiations continue. In Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Phil Gordon gave the council the option to reverse the decision after hearing from the public after the other 15 budget meetings are concluded at the end of this month.
The notion that the average City of Phoenix employee also makes $100,000 per year was challenged by members of the public and by city employees from various departments. Councilman Sal DiCccio was responsible for this benchmark being placed in the public domain. He repeatedly suggested to various news outlets that “his calculations show the average total cost per worker is more than $100,000.”
The Arizona Republic’s story on budget concerns calculated that the “records show the median annual salary for full-time city workers was $57,000.” Additionally, AFSCME Members as well as other union members who rallied in support of the grocery tax on Tuesday evening expressed exactly what services that they provided for the members of our town.
We make Phoenix happen, one service at a time, one customer at a time. For those that expressed your support of the grocery tax, thank you. We would also like to encourage you to leave a comment about your experience.
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