Phoenix residents can weigh in on the future of the city’s controversial food tax this week, as officials host a series of public meetings to discuss the best way to phase it out. In 2010, the city slapped a 2 percent tax on food as an emergency measure to raise cash during the recession, but the city council is now looking for ways to cut the tax in half by January 1, 2014. The entire tax will expire March 2015.
The food tax has been controversial since it started, and it was an issue debated during the August council elections. Critics of the tax said it overburdens the poor, while its supporters believed phasing it out too early could cause funding shortages for essential city services.
The food tax raises about $50 million a year.
The public hearings will be held around Phoenix starting Monday. Below is a list of the public hearing locations:
2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9,
Madison School District,
District Office Board Room,
5601 N. 16th St.
6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9,
Goelet A.C. Beuf Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
3435 W. Pinnacle Peak Road
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10,
Paradise Valley Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
17402 N. 40th St.
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12,
Verde Community Center,
916 E. Van Buren St.
6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, Bilingual (Spanish/English),
Maryvale Community Center,
Auditorium,
4420 N. 51st Ave.
5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16,
South Mountain Community College Library,
7050 S. 24th St.
6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26,
Cesar Chavez High School,
Cafeteria,
3921 W. Baseline Road
6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30,
Paradise Valley Community Center,
Multi-Purpose Room,
17402 N. 40th St.
6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, Bilingual (Spanish/English),
Desert West Community Center,
6501 W. Virginia Ave.
6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2,
Sunnyslope Community Center,
802 E. Vogel Ave.
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3,
Yucca Library,
648 N. 15th Ave.