This article reviews the initiatives of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel during his first term in office. On the topic of City finance, the City’s general obligation debt has grown at a slower rate under his administration but some existing debt has been pushed far into the future. The Civic Federation’s FY2015 City of Chicago Budget Analysis discusses this refinancing practice, commonly referred to as “scoop and toss.”
(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article discusses the Civic Federation’s FY2015 Cook County Budget analysis. The Civic Federation supports the budget for closing a $168.9 million deficit while keeping the property tax levy flat and without relying on new fines or fees. However, the Federation is concerned that uncertainty facing both CountyCare and the County’s underfunded pension fund could jeopardize the County’s fiscal stability.
Full Report Discusses Recent Progress, Fiscal Uncertainty Ahead In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2015 operating budget of $3.7 billion and praises the work of Board President Preckwinkle and her administration to reform County operations. The full 95-page report is available here. “Under the leadership of President Preckwinkle and her team, Cook County is continuing to become a more accountable and efficient steward of public resources,” said…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2015 operating budget of $3.7 billion for holding the property tax levy relatively flat and not including any new fines or fees. Instead, a $168.9 million shortfall is closed through a combination of revenue increases, expenditure reductions and management efficiencies. Under the leadership of President Preckwinkle and her team, Cook County is continuing to become a more accountable and efficient steward of public resources. Despite…
This article discusses the Civic Federation’s analysis of the FY2015 City of Chicago budget. The Civic Federation supports the budget for its structural changes and actions toward long-term stability, but is deeply concerned about how the City will manage rising pension costs and debt services payments in future years.
When the Illinois Jobs Now! capital spending program was approved in 2010 the State also approved a series of dedicated revenue sources intended to fund new borrowing costs outside the State operating budget. As previously sold capital bonds were retired, it was anticipated that the cost for new bond funded capital projects would fall outside the operating budget. However, five years into the capital spending program the FY2015 General Funds debt service costs for capital bonds continue to…
Recent Progress Threatened by Pension Funding Crisis, Borrowing for Operations In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed FY2015 operating budget of $7.3 billion but expressed deep concern for how the City will manage rising pension costs and debt service payments in future years. The full 101-page analysis is available here. The FY2015 budget closes a $297.3 million deficit with reasonable structural changes including targeted…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago's proposed $7.3 billion budget because it reflects both reasonable structural changes and significant actions toward long-term stability, including the 2014 pension reform law for the City's Municipal and Laborers' pension funds and the continued phase out of the City's retiree health care subsidy. The Federation remains deeply concerned about how the City will manage rising debt service payments and pension costs in future years. For the last…
As previously discussed here, the enacted FY2015 budget for the State of Illinois includes several budgetary gimmicks intended to make up for the loss of revenues associated with the expiration of the temporary income tax increases halfway through the fiscal year. Two of these measures include shifting funds to pay for FY2015 General Funds expenses, which masks the growth in spending when comparing total operating costs for FY2015 and FY2014. An analysis of the FY2015 enacted budget…
This article discusses Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s FY2015 Budget announcement for the City of Chicago on October 15. The Civic Federation said the budget is fairly conservative in addressing the city’s $297 million deficit, but lacks a detailed, long-term plan for addressing the City’s underfunded police and fire pension systems.
