PHOENIX -- Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon says the City may have no choice but to impose a sales tax hike to deal with the current budget crisis.
"If we have to cut anything else then we are going into a really dark hole," he said. "It is an emergency that we need to be talking about."
Gordon did not offer any details about what that would mean. He said while it is not an option that he necessarily wants, the city may not have any choice.
"It is hard for me to suggest it," he said.
With the State facing a $2 billion mid-year shortfall, Gordon says cities are going to lose even more funding, putting the burden on the cities to either make more cuts or find another source of revenue.
The City of Phoenix is looking at a $65 to $95 million dollar budget shortfall for this year.
A total of $279 million was previously cut from last year and this year's budget.
Some business owners fear that an increase in sales tax is only going to hurt struggling businesses more.
An assistant manager for Click's Billiards in Phoenix says that the economy has already taken a toll and even a small increase can hurt.
Tim Coomer, manager of Crave Sandwich Shop, says the tax increase wouldn't make a huge difference for his business.
The shop is located on ASU's downtown campus. He says the perception of a sales tax increase is worse than the reality.
"People still have to eat," he says. "The city could use it (the money) after all that was put into downtown renovation.
