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2 <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would like to increase the lodging tax by 1%, with the rationale <br />being the Tourism Bureau is asking for almost a 20% increase in finding and the y believe <br />this amount can be made up with hotel bookings. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell said he has no feedback to report on increasing the lodging tax and <br />said it will be spring on people very quickly. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Cox, Ms. Leslie Beauregard, Bud get Manager, <br />said the lodging tax provides approximately $1.5 million a year now. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he would like to see the E - 911 tax increase reduced to $2. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would also like to consider keeping the E - 911 tax level. <br /> <br /> Ms. Richards said she would like to increase the tax relief asset limit to $125,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would like to have the income side of tax relief looked at. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Cox, Mr. Lee Richards, Commissioner of <br />Revenue, said the program has cost $4 06,000 so far this year and if the income level is <br />lowered some people who now qualify will no longer. Mr. Richards said people in every <br />section of the City qualify for tax relief. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said we are trying to make it more affordable for people, but he does <br />not feel that it is a hardship when one has an income of $50,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he is reluctant to provide the tax relief and then take it away for <br />some. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would like to look at a real estate tax reduction of one cent and <br />two cen ts. <br /> Ms. Richards proposed a fee for large item pick up, noting that people could get <br />together with other households on a block to spread out the cost. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell said a fee of $50 would cover the entire cost of large item pick up. <br /> <br /> Mr. Aubrey Watts, Chief Financial Officer, said a $25 fee would probably <br />generate $50,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox expressed concern that low income neighborhoods are less likely to <br />arrange to do large item pick up as a block and he may see more items left on his street. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Schilling, Mr. O'Connell said the large item <br />pick up has been in existence for at least 30 years. <br /> <br /> Ms. Richards said we provide relief for trash stickers based on income eligibility <br />and we could do the same for large item pickup. <br /> <br /> Mr . Lynch asked about increasing fines for parking and speeding tickets and <br />asked why the projections for court revenues in these areas is projected to go down. <br /> <br /> Ms. Beauregard said the court received one time funds last year. <br /> <br /> Mr. Watts said fines for spe eding tickets are set by the Supreme Court and we <br />cannot raise them above that level. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch asked for more information about increasing fines for speeding in <br />neighborhood zones to $100. <br /> <br /> Moving to expenditures, Mr. Lynch said he would like to reduce the CIP for <br />undergrounding utilities by $50,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell noted that this must be done for a five year period. <br />