For the last time as the city’s executive, Mayor Richard M. Daley has proposed a balanced budget for the City Council to consider without mandating more furlough days for employees or raising taxes and fees.
For the last time as the city’s executive, Mayor Richard M. Daley has proposed a balanced budget for the City Council to consider without mandating more furlough days for employees or raising taxes and fees.
Instead, the mayor’s budget, if approved, would dip into reserve funds and use Tax Incrementing Financing money to help erase a projected $655 million deficit. His proposed budget for 2011 is $6.15 billion, a slight change from $6.2 billion last year. By law, the city must have a balanced budget by year-end.
“More efficient and solid is what we (city leaders) believe the city has to be,” Daley told the Defender.
Daley plans to use $120 million from the parking meter reserves, leaving it with $76 million. The amount is a deep dip from the $1.83 billion it had just two years ago when the mayor closed on a deal to privatize parking meters for the next 99 years.
However, Daley, who announced he would not seek re-election next year, said he will not touch the Skyway reserves, leaving $500 million available for the next mayor when Daley leaves office in May. Originally, the city received $1.3 billion in 2004 when it closed on a deal to privatize the Chicago Skyway tollway.
“We lost $1 billion in revenues (due to the economy) over the last few years. And if that was not the case we would not be in such a deficit today,” explained Daley. “So a hiring freeze will remain in effect for a savings of $20 million. We are asking unions to extend their current agreement for another six months to save an additional $32 million.”
Daley reached an agreement with several unions representing city employees to help balance the 2009 and 2010 budget that required employees to receive compensation time instead of cash for overtime worked and to take unpaid, furlough days in addition to non-paid holidays. That agreement ends in June 2011. The city’s workforce is 90 percent union and while Daley said he does not oppose unions, he said everyone must sacrifice during the tough, economic times.
The mayor said he would take 12 furlough days, in addition to 12 unpaid holidays.
“That’s $19,000 from my salary. I think government should lead by example,” he said.
However, taking furlough days is optional for aldermen who earn $110,000 a year as part-time city employees. All other city employees earning more than $35,000 a year are required to take furloughs.
New this year in his budget proposal is the use of TIF money.
“We had to balance the budget. That’s why we used TIF funds this year,” Daley staunchly said. “You have to live within your means.”
Acknowledging that his budget proposal does call for refinancing $142 million in debt, he reminded taxpayers “this budget does not add any new debt.”
By declaring $180 million in TIF funds as surplus, the city gets $38 million to help offset the budget and $90 million will go to Chicago Public Schools. The remaining money is to be divided among other budget items.
One thing Daley’s budget does not take into account is the estimated $100 million the city may have to pay to settle a discrimination lawsuit sparked by its 1995 firefighters entrance exam the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against this year.
“We don’t know. It could be $500 million, a billion. We don’t know,” the mayor said.
Ultimately, the matter could end up being resolved after Daley retires next year. Daley announced last month that he would not seek a seventh term after 21 years as mayor. In December Daley will become Chicago’s longest serving mayor, a record previously held by his late father Richard J. Daley.
Other responsibilities Daley will leave for Chicago’s next mayor are picking a new police superintendent and chief executive officer and chief education officer for CPS. He plans to extend Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis’ contract by a month when it expires March 1, 2011. Weis is the city’s highest paid employee at $310,000 a year and has the full support of his boss.
“He is not one of the boys. That is why I hired him,” Daley said of the city’s top cop. “I think he has done a fine job.”
Citing no regrets about being mayor or decisions he made while in office, Daley said among his proudest accomplishments as mayor are improving public education and the redevelopment of public housing.
“Everyday I have enjoyed public life. I love this job. I could do this job everyday,” he said. The mayor said he’s leaving office because, “I knew in my gut, it was time for me.”
Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender
(Defender/Worsom Robinson)
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