The East Lansing City Council will hear from the public about the ideas being considered to deal with a large budget shortfall tonight.
East Lansing voters rejected an income tax proposal last November, leaving officials with tough choices to make about cutting spending or finding new revenue sources.
On Tuesday, residents can tell the city council what they think of ideas like a different income tax proposal, higher property taxes, a millage for emergency services or bonds for parks and streets. Possible service cuts will also be addressed.
Mayor Mark Meadows says council is still looking for “the sweet spot.” He says "do people want their property taxes raised? Are people actually willing to absorb more taxes of any kind? I don't know that we actually have the answer to that."
For any proposal requiring a vote of the people, a decision would need to be made before May 15th in order to get on the ballot in August. The budget for the coming fiscal year must be approved by the third week of May.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the East Lansing city hall council chambers. Online comments will be accepted through March 4th.