City council votes 6-1 to increase property taxes

New Orleans property taxes will be going up in 2011 even more, after the City Council approved an amendment on Saturday to increase the millage again.

In a six to one vote, the Council raised property taxes another 7.74 mills, which the members said was needed for the city to maintain services. District B council member Stacy Head voted against it.

The increase is a compromise: it is one mill higher than what the Council approved for the budget on December 1, but it is also one mill lower that what Mayor Mitch Landrieu originally proposed.

"We had to make the hard decision. We had to bite the bullet and nobody likes to do it," said City Council Vice President Jackie Clarkson.

"I'm excited we have a chance on January 1, with our budget, with the citizens giving us our priorities, to start moving forward," Mayor Landrieu said after the vote.