Budget Hearings concluded this week! You can visit the City Clerk’s Vimeo page if you want to catch up on any of the hearings you missed, or visit our Instagram page for daily debriefs on what we learned in the hearings.
While budget hearings have concluded, negotiations are still very much ongoing. Ald. Vasquez and 26 other Alders wrote a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson, calling for more collaboration between his office and City Council, better communication, and for the administration to do their due diligence in finding other possible spending efficiencies, answering unanswered questions, and making necessary reforms in the budget process. You can read the full letter below:
“Dear Mayor Johnson,
We write to share our priorities for the 2025 budget.
We believe a successful budget will encompass careful reductions and efficiencies with no interruption to essential city services. Structural reforms and increased revenue are necessary.
We also prioritize sustainability, as do our constituents. In the spirit of collaboration and continued straightforward communication, we ask that the administration provide the following related to the corporate fund as soon as possible and no later than end of day, Friday, December 7:
- All outstanding TTC responses no later than Friday, December 7, and any new TTC requests
made by alders be given the courtesy of a timely response within 48 hours. - A detailed report of spending cuts by department that are included in your current proposal
and outlining additional possible spending cuts. - Itemized breakdowns of the current proposal by the Administration for revenue, efficiencies
and ARPA clawbacks. - A detailed list of all new or expanded programs (year over year) that are included in your
current budget proposal by department along with corresponding costs and FTEs - Out year income statements and the assumptions that support them (revenue assumptions,
CP| and GDP assumptions, legislative actions that may be pending effective date, future CBA
assumptions) as well as scenario planning and assumptions off of those projections. - A report of other fees or fines the administration has explored for potential revenue increases
as well as what increased enforcement of existing ordinances with corresponding modeling by
department.
Additionally, we believe that the expansion of existing programs should be accompanied by structural revenue sources. With this in mind, we believe the following are opportunities to hold steady or make further reductions in light of our current budget deficit:
- Maintain the Summer Youth Employment program at the current historic level of 28,000.
- Elimination of redundancies between departments including the Mayor’s Office.
Our constituents have made it clear that they are unwilling to shoulder a property tax increase without first ensuring that the City has done its due diligence in considering spending cuts. These are all reasonable and necessary for us to fully engage in the process of passing a budget for 2025 and to set our city on the most sustainable path moving forward. Moving forward, several colleagues are requesting all budget recommendations to be shared publicly by September 15th each year, more budget data transparency, and empowering the City Council Office of Financial Analysis in order to be more proactive in these challenging fiscal times.
We take you at your word, and want to truly collaborate. This is a moment where both history and the public demand that we do better, and we believe that is absolutely possible, but it requires true collaboration.
Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to continuing to do our part to get a responsible FY 2025 budget passed as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
- Ald Desmon Yancy (5)
- Ald Nicole Lee (11)
- Ald Julia Ramirez (12)
- Ald Jeylu Gutierrez (14)
- Ald Raymond Lopez (15)
- Ald Stephanie Coleman (16)
- Ald David Moore (17)
- Ald Derrick Curtis (18)
- Ald Matt O’Shea (19)
- Ald Jeanette Taylor (20)
- Ald Ronnie Mosley (21)
- Ald Monique Scott (24)
- Ald Felix Cardona (31)
- Ald Scott Waguespack (32)
- Ald Bill Conway (34)
- Ald Gil Villegas (36)
- Ald Emma Mitts (37)
- Ald Nicholas Sposato (38)
- Ald Samantha Nugent (39)
- Ald Andre Vasquez (40)
- Ald Anthony Napolitano (41)
- Ald Timothy Knudsen (43)
- Ald Bennett Lawson (44)
- Ald James Gardiner (45)
- Ald Matt Martin (47)
- Ald Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48)
- Ald Maria Hadden (49)”
One thing has become clear during this budget process: we owe Chicagoans a more transparent and democratic budget process. That is why Ald. Vasquez and several other alders have introduced a number of responsible budget amendments to the management ordinance, including:
- Establishing Mid-Year Departmental Operation Reports and Hearings to ensure departments communicate program, revenue, and spending data and stay on track throughout the fiscal year;
- Mandating Early Budget Recommendations so that City Council and the public can meaningfully engage in the budget process;
- Enhancing Budget Data Transparency Requirements to make more detailed budget data provided to the public;
- Empowering the Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) to ensure effective Council oversight.
By adding these structures to the budget process, we can build a more accountable and effective city government that the public can feel confident in.
Negotiations on these amendments and the rest of the budget will continue next week, so we will back next Friday with another update on where the budget stands! If you have any questions or feedback in the meantime, feel free to reach out to our office at info@40thward.org.