Cutting down on other expenses - like €7 million on a new library - was recommended instead.
A Laois councillor wants a re-ordering of priorities in the county council.
Caroline Dwane Stanley was one of the representatives who voted down a proposal to increase the local property tax by five per cent.
The policy was supported by Laois Council CEO John Mulholland who described the council's financial situation as 'dire'.
The Sinn Féin councillor accepts that money needs to be found to offset increasing costs, but thinks it should be sourced elsewhere:
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