This article about the Chicago City Council’s approval of the FY2010 City of Chicago proposed budget quotes the Civic Federation. The Federation says that the budget as enacted does not fix fundamental imbalances and avoids making necessary cuts.
This article about the Chicago City Council’s 38-12 vote to approve a FY2010 City of Chicago budget that uses $370 million in asset lease proceeds from the parking meters to fill budget gaps mentions the Civic Federation’s warning that such gaps could grow larger in years to come.
As noted on page 9 of its FY2010 Tentative Budget, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will begin to address concerns over its increasing pension liabilities. The District is proposing to create a task force to study pensions and possibly commission a report that would present analysis of the current and future costs of the District’s pension benefits. The report would also explore strategic alternatives to increase the funded ratio of District’s Retirement Fund…
The Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s FY2010 Tentative Budget of nearly $1.7 billion as a prudent response to revenue shortfalls. The MWRD plans to prioritize spending, control personnel costs, and implement a modest increase to its property tax levy to balance its budget. The Federation cautions the District, however, that substantial changes may be necessary to stem growing pension liabilities. The Federation recommends that the District pursue employer…
CHICAGO – The Civic Federation supports the $1.7 billion FY2010 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) tentative budget as a prudent response to revenue shortfalls. The MWRD plans to prioritize spending, control personnel costs, and implement a modest increase to its property tax levy to balance its budget. The full Federation analysis will be available today at www.civicfed.org. The Civic Federation commends the MWRD for its proposal to take steps toward implementing…
Facing a multi-billion dollar mountain of unpaid bills and declining revenues, Governor Pat Quinn has proposed a new short-term borrowing plan for the State of Illinois that has encountered opposition from the Comptroller’s Office. As previously reported in this blog, the Governor in late October announced his intention to borrow $900 million to help catch up on payments to state vendors and service providers. The original plan called for borrowing based on revenue shortfalls, known as “failure…
In September Fitch Ratings announced an upgrade of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s outstanding unlimited tax general obligation bonds totaling $115 million to ‘AA-’ from ‘A+.’ However, Fitch noted that the District is vulnerable to decisions made by its Board of Commissioners, who also serve as the governing board of Cook County. Fitch expressed support for Senate Bill 176, which would establish a separate Board of Commissioners for the District, and stated that the greater…
The Chicago Park District recently proposed its FY2010 operating budget, totaling $391.9 million. The District is decreasing its operating expenditures by 0.3% from the FY2009 budget, which is one of the reasons the Federation offered its qualified support of the District’s FY2010 budget. Limiting expenditure growth is a common practice at the Chicago Park District. Over the last ten years total appropriations have grown by $64.5 million, or 19.7%, which is less than the inflation rate of…
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for the FY2010 Chicago Park District’s proposed operating budget of $391.9 million. The District is proposing a responsible budget that reduces expenditures and holds the property tax levy flat by using operating efficiencies, personnel cuts and a modest increase in certain fees to balance the budget. This support is qualified because the District’s budget proposes closing $7.7 million of its budget gap with proceeds from the parking garage lease…
The Civic Federation’s analysis of the Chicago Park District’s $391.9 million FY2010 proposed budget concluded that the plan is a responsible one that reduces expenditures, but uses too much in reserve funds to close a $23.9 million budget deficit. There are many aspects of this budget that the Civic Federation supports. The proposed budget will cut spending by 0.3%, marking the second year in a row the District has reduced expenditures. Over the past ten years, the District’s appropriations…
