Voters in the city of South Tucson will not weigh in on a tax that would have impacted rental-property owners.
The city council held a public hearing on Monday night and discussed an idea to increase what's called "the residential rental tax."
The tax would have increased from 2.5% to 6.5%. According to the interim city manager Veronica Moreno, 71% of the properties in South Tucson are rentals. Moreno says on average renters in South Tucson pay $400 a month. The increase in taxes would mean an increase from $10 a month to $26 a month.
Council decided not to put it on November's ballot. Some residents said they did not like the idea of paying out more money.
The burden would have been put on the property owners, but they would have the right to increase rent in response.
Moreno says the tax has not been raised since it was implemented in 1995. Now she says the city may have to look at decreasing some services, like police and fire.
