The city budget is a top priority as Chicago alderpeople prepare for Wednesday's City Council meeting, but the mayor and council are still far apart on a deal.

Much of the debate over the mayor's budget has centered on reimposing the city's so-called head tax, which was in place from 1973 to 2014, taxing businesses with more than 50 employees a $4 per employee per month. Johnson's budget plan rebrands the head tax as a "community safety surcharge" to raise money for violence prevention programs, but critics have said the tax is a job killer.

Before Wednesday's City Council meeting, a coalition of community groups voiced their displeasure with an alternative budget plan proposed by the mayor's critics, which they said would hurt working people in the city.

"It is a proposal that shifts the burden from being one that is shared with corporations via the community safety surcharge to being solely on the backs of working class people through doubling our garbage fees, increasing liquor taxes, and cutting youth jobs," said Brianna Champion, an organizer with the Chicago Black Voter Project.

The groups said residents are worried about life being more expensive for people who live in Chicago. They also said people won't vote for alderpeople who raise their taxes, but don't increase taxes for corporations.

Initially pitched as a $21-per-employee per-month tax on companies with more than 100 employees, the mayor's revised plan would apply the to companies with at least 500 employees, while raising the monthly per-employee rate to $33.

That means 175 corporations would pay the head tax instead of 1,000.

Johnson said his proposed head tax rate amounts to less than 1% of profit for large businesses, while raising an estimated $82 million a year for the city's violence prevention programs.

".0008 percent could literally create thousands of opportunities for people to drive violence down. I cannot think of a better investment that our city can make than in investing in the things that keep people safe," Johnson said on Tuesday.

Opponents of the head tax argue it would discourage businesses from expanding in Chicago, or drive them out of the city altogether. They have pitched increases in the city's garbage collection fees and liquor taxes.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of high school and college students plan to voice their opposition to the alderpeople's alternative budget plan, which also would cut 5,100 summer jobs.

The students said investing in summer jobs is proven to reduce violence and bring stability to young people.