|
Dear Friends,
At the November 19th meeting of the Chicago City Council, and after weeks of deliberations and public hearings to discuss the City's fiscal condition, I voted to approve the $8.9 billion City of Chicago 2015 budget.
I am steadfast in my commitment to making the City live within its fiscal means, while also allocating strong funding to provide vital infrastructure, health and public safety services to City residents. This budget advances progress made to right wrongs of years past, succeeding in balancing the City's finances and reducing current deficits without raising property, sales or gas taxes.
Therefore, when deliberating our annual budget, I made a concentrated effort to ensure the budget proposal reduces fiscal inefficiencies, builds long-term monetary reserves and, above all, reduces our City's structural deficit.
When I became Alderman in 2011, the City faced a structural deficit of nearly $600 million. This was due, in large part, to decades of fiscal mismanagement allowed by prior administrations and members of the City Council. I am very pleased to report that as a result of significant reforms, this deficit has been reduced by more than 50%, and we passed a balanced budget.
While this budget is not perfect - much more work remains to ensure the City returns to sound fiscal footing - it represents a strong step in the right direction.
Importantly, the 2015 budget includes additional investment in much-needed City services. By increasing funding for tree trimming and removal, we can look forward to more timely completion of needed tree trims in the ward, as well as the planting of 7,800 trees throughout the City.
The budget also doubles the number of pothole and street repair teams, allowing teams to provide year-round service to help prevent severely damaged infrastructure from persisting, as was seen throughout the ward following last year's harsh winter. Funding for graffiti removal and rodent control was also increased.
I particularly want to thank several City Departments for increased savings in controllable employee costs like disability and worker's compensation, an area I particularly stress. The Department of Transportation has, through pro-active monitoring, reduced duty disability costs 48% percent since 2011, resulting in $5 million dollars in savings a year. The Department of Water Management has also taken pro-active steps, reducing its number of duty related injuries by 22%. The Police Department and Streets and Sanitation also show decreases. These costs savings directly reduce the city's structural deficits and allow for service improvements.
However, while we can be proud of recent progress, an essential component of right-sizing City finances is enacting comprehensive pension reform. While reforms in June to municipal employee and laborer pensions reduced liabilities by $3 billion, further reforms are critical. I will continue to advocate for pension reform in 2015 to ensure our City is on a path towards a stable and sustainable future.
| 
