Nashville, Tenn., City Councilman Bob Mendes tried unsuccessfully for two years to get his booming city to raise property taxes to address its growing municipal needs, then came COVID-19, Pew reported. The City Council last month approved a 34% increase. What changed? “We’re broke,” said Mendes. Cities such as Nashville and states from New York to California have raised taxes or are considering it amid a pandemic that has crushed the economy and thrown state and city budgets deep into the red. Unlike the federal government, 49 states (Vermont is the exception) and many cities must balance their budgets, and there’s only so much they can cut, particularly when the double punch of coronavirus and civil unrest has stretched public services. Congress is debating a package of between $1 trillion and $3 trillion in additional aid for states and cities. But the final amount and the rules for spending it are uncertain, leaving states and localities in a pinch.
