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Hollywood Considering Tax, Service Fee Increases

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HOLLYWOOD (CBS4) – Hollywood residents will go to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots as to whether pensions given to city employees along with police and firefighters should be cut.

If the measure fails, city residents could be facing a tax and fee increases of up to 23 percent, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

Currently, the city is facing a $38 million budget for the new year which begins October 1st. If Tuesday’s pension referendum passes, it would save the city $8.5 million.

In addition to increase in taxes and service fees, other options will which be discussed Monday night during a budget hearing by the commission are cutting employee salaries and lay offs.

“I am not a fan of laying off employees,” Mayor Peter Bober told the paper. “I’m more likely to consider tax increases or salary cuts.”

If the pension referendum is approved, employees who receive one will have to work longer before they retire and receive less when they do so.

A “no” vote means the city will consider cutting salaries by as much as 18 percent, raising taxes and fees, eliminating nearly 80 jobs and scaling back on school programs and summer camp.

View Comments
  • Jane Doe

    Mayor and commissioners: stop blaming employees for the city’s mismanagement. It is not their fault but yours. You tried turning the city into something it is not and never will be. Millions were given away to developers and spent on pet projects even when the well was starting to run dry. You could shut down the downtown CRA which is handing money out to businesses that are shutting down without repaying and restaurants that try to reinvent themselves. Then to add insults to the downtown restaurants which are usually slow on Mondays they bring in food trucks to the Arts park. The downtown CRA has accomplished very little as the older businesses have almost all moved out and there are all kind of vacancies.

  • Phil Landers

    HEY! Get my comment up there! I’m a resident and a taxpayer and deserve to have my say. I was neither vulgar nor slanderous.

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