Cook County Board Finance Committee Meeting
May 11, 2022

The Commissioners agreed to consider a Substitute to replace the original version of a proposed ordinance to increase the salaries of all County elected officials.  However, the Commissioners further agreed to delay voting on the merits of the Substitute to a meeting of the Committee to be held later this month.  The League of Women Voters of Cook County, both in written and verbal testimony at this meeting had urged this delay in order to provide the public more time to review and provide input on this proposal.  (Item 22-2825)

Under the Substitute

• As set forth in a chart, the salaries of all County Elected Officials will be raised by 10% as of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 which begins in December 2022 when the new terms begin (December 2024 for the Clerk of the Court).  After the initial year, the salaries will be further adjusted by the lesser of 3% or the change in the Chicago Consumer Price Index for FY 2024, 2025 and 2026.  Such salaries have not been raised in 20 years.  The League supports these increases.
• The Substitute also provides that such yearly adjustments shall continue after FY 2026 until and unless there is a vote by the Board to eliminate or amend such increases.  The League urged the deletion of this provision stating that there should be a review and a vote for any further increases.

Also at this meeting

• Commissioner Anaya questioned the amount the County is to pay to the Court-Appointed Administrator for the Shakman case in the Assessor’s office.  Comm. Anaya noted that the amount is much higher than in the past, which surprised her as she understands that the oversight is nearing its end.  The representative from the State’s Attorney said that that office has questioned the Court-Appointed Administrator, who said that there was additional work involved to finish the case.  Comm. Silvestri suggested that the detailed bills could come before the Litigation Subcommittee for further discussion.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Commissioners Finance And Technology Committees
Joint Meeting on April 25, 2022

The special meeting was held at the urging of Commissioner Sean Morrison to bring the key stakeholders together to get their commitment to work together on getting the 2nd installment tax bills out no later than mid-November 2022.  Key were the chair of the Board of Review, the Chief of Staff of the Assessor’s Office, and the Chief Information Office, Bureau of Technology (BOT).  The County Clerk’s Chief of Staff and Treasurer also provided comments.

Board of Review (BOR):  Chair Larry Rogers stated he just received two days ago the remaining 70% of the required assessment information that his office needs to begin the appeal process for the 2021 assessments; that it will take his office 4-5 months at the earliest to process the appeals and get the information to the Clerk’s office to calculate the tax bill; which then goes to the Treasurer for printing, mailing, and collection.  Mr. Rogers stated that his office ran largely by paper until 2015 when it converted to a digital appeal processing system [not the Tyler Platform].  He emphasized that he ran a parallel paper system to work out problems before relying solely on the digital platform. The BOR is not on the new Tyler System. 

Assessor's Office (OA):  The Chief of Staff, Sarah Resnick, who stated that she takes full responsibility for steering the input of property assessment data to the new Tyler Platform, stopped the parallel input of underlying data such as square footage to the decades old Mainframe Platform in July of 2021 after finding that the transfer of detailed data was almost impossible between the systems causing many errors and re-inputs.  The Mainframe is the platform that the Board of Review has used for decades to obtain the needed information from the Assessor. The Chief of Staff contacted the BOR and the BOT to ask that they all work together to find a solution.  A successful interface was developed, but it is the reason for the delay; and it was done without the BOR. In the meantime, the underlying information was already on the Tyler system; and the interface was offered to the BOR in September of 2021.  However, it would require training of BOR technicians by the Assessor’s office; and the BOR declined, saying it has to be independent of the Assessor’s office. 

Bureau of Technology (BOT):  Tom Lynch was questioned as to his recommendation to run a parallel system between the new Tyler and the old Mainframe.  He said he did make the recommendation.  When asked if it was impossible to input the underlying data from Tyler to the Mainframe, he said it would be very difficult but not impossible.  He also stated that the BOR was not included in the transition to the Tyler Platform as were all the other Stakeholders because the BOR used a 2015 Platform that was modern.  He noted that not all systems can be replaced at the same time and that the best practice is to stagger rollouts.  He said the “legacy system” which is the mainframe has to be retired.  He also said that the interface is working.

Suggestions by Comm. Sean Morrison include: Increase Overtime; increase hearing staff; use retired staff on a contract basis; determine if an estimated tax bill for 2nd installment is possible. The Clerk’s Chief of Staff said that this is not a likely legal option but that he would investigate further.

Comm. Daley:  Asked Mr. Rogers if the vast majority of bills can go out and the remaining that have been appealed go out later.  Answer: No.  The BOR needs one finite set of data. He did state that it is a good idea to bring former employees back under contract.  However, with more help and more overtime, he does not believe that the five month delay in receiving the data can be made up. Daley also asked the Clerk’s chief of staff to contact the Finance Chief to see what can done to provide loans to small municipal taxing bodies if they are unable to get a bank loan.

Comm. Degnan:  Encouraged BOR to get off the legacy mainframe platform so that the current issue doesn’t perpetuate.

Comm. Lowry: Asked if all three Stakeholders agreed that the 2nd installment tax bills can be out in mid-November.  Answer:  Yes, it is possible; but no guarantee.  The Assessor’s office also stated that if it can get the information back from BOR in time, it can then meet the 2023 deadlines.

Comm. Britton: Asked if township assessors and assistant assessors could be trained to help the BOD process appeals.  Answer:  Would need the same system training as a new hire.

Several other Commissioners also commented or asked questions, all of which were duplicates of what is covered above.

​There were six Public Speakers Representing the Following Organizations: 
The Chicago Chamber of Commerce      Illinois Realtors local Government Affairs Office 
Western Spring’s Park District                Palos Fire Protection Force,
Scofield Fire Department                        Building Owners and Managers Association  
All were concerned about the delay in mailing the 2021 2nd Installment Tax Bills and its effect on their constituents and vulnerable Cook County homeowners. 

Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings
October 25, 2021, Part Two
​
Public Administrator presented by Louis G. Apostal
Proposed 2022 Budget:  $1,505,785         2021 Budget:  $1,412,029
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  15              2021 FTEs:  15
Presentation Highlights:

• Almost a self-supporting agency, since most collected fees go into the county treasury. 
• Is a quasi-state agency since it is overseen by the circuit court system. 
• Deals mainly with probate, selling of property, etc.

Office of the Independent Inspector General presented by IG Patrick Blanchard

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $1,945,869     2021 Budget:  $1,874,663
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  19               2021 FTEs:  19
Presentation Highlights:

• Budget includes additional funds requested for certification training for the 5 new employees (investigators).
• # of complaints received is leveling off to about 795 per year—most from the county and forest preserve district; about 30 of these are from sub-contracted Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD).  
• MWRD contract expires in 2022, but will most likely be renewed.
• This year an ordinance passed giving the Litigation sub-committee authority to review the quarterly reports from the Inspector General—mostly when recommendations were not being followed by departments and agencies.  This is a positive for this office.

Cook County Treasurer presented by Maria Pappas

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $11,951,584 (decrease of about $36,000)    2021 Budget:  $11,987,500
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  72.5  (decrease of 5 FTEs)                 2021 FTEs:  77.5

Highlights of Presentation:

• Main purpose of this office is to collect property taxes ($16.1 billion) throughout Cook County and then distribute the collected money to the 2,200 local government units—various taxing bodies (municipalities, schools, etc).  Also invests the revenues and others public funds according to law.   Conducts tax sales of delinquent properties.
• Productive use of technology and automation has made this office more efficient and less expensive over the years.
• This office has an extensive user-friendly website that contains almost all information any taxpayer needs or is interested in regarding taxes:  www.cookcountytreasurer.com. 
• The web site also contains several studies done by this office, including Scavenger Sale Study, 20-year Property Tax History, Debt Study, and Tax Bill 2020 Analysis.
• This office has a strong outreach service to help taxpayers get exemptions, avoid overpayments, obtain refunds, etc.
• Treasurer Pappas has not been pleased with the roll-out of technology by Tyler Technologies, especially as it concerns other offices with whom she works (Assessor, Clerk, etc.)

Some interesting facts on website:

• $72 million has been overpaid by taxpayers in duplicate payments or overpayment
• $43 million in missing exemptions for seniors (they haven't applied for the exemption)
• Property taxes are up 99% in the last 20 years
• 50% of scavenger sales are vacant properties
• Since 2018, $82 million in automatic refunds has been paid out
• The 547 primary taxing agencies have a debt of $153.4 billion (mostly pensions)

Cook County Assessor presented by Fritz Kaegi

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $33,778,110             2021 Budget:  $31,120,615
(2022 includes $1,000,000 allocated from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA)
Both years include about $4,605,290 in Special Purpose Funds
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  276                              2021 FTEs:  276

Highlights of Presentation

• Assessor Kaegi praised Tyler Technologies as being less expensive than alternatives at this point.  The office is pleased with the roll-outs, with iasWorld going live soon.  
• Goals this coming year include:  strategic hiring and cost efficiencies,  improved customer service, technology and modernization investments.
• Having difficulty hiring for 40 vacant positions, since other businesses pay more or have better perks.  Many retirements and COVID fears have increased vacancies.
• Digitization has lowered costs and lowered error rates.  A consulting contract is being used for customer service improvement.  Best practices in this field are being followed, although Cook County has a very unusual system of assessment.
• Commissioner Miller was concerned about Southland communities and their assessments.  Small businesses have high rates when residential properties are lowered.  Concern about drawing businesses to the Southland with such high property taxes.
• There are a large number of appeals in Cook County (33% of properties are appealed).  The reason is distrust in assessment accuracy and fairness,  Assessor is working on more accurate, uniform, equitable assessments.  Interestingly, appeals have been down even though the process to appeal is easier now.  Kaegi feels it will take a few years to rectify/change the distrust in assessments by home-owners and commercial property owners.
• Within about a year, the process of updating inaccurate assessments will carry-over to the next assessment in 3 years hence.  So once rectified, this should be ”permanent.”
• TIF Districts can negatively affect assessments (will be higher since some areas will have a tax break).  ARPA funding this year will go towards measuring the incentives given to property owners -—are they working as intended. Kaegi is working to get some changes to assessment process at the state level—with new laws.

Karin Hribar - Observer

Cook County Board Finance Committee Mid-year Budget Hearings
July 19, 2021
Presentations by Offices under the President, Public Administrator, Assessor, Secretary to the Board, and Public Defender

Highlights from the Presentations
Overview:

• 2021 Forecast for General Fund:  Project $60 M of revenues over expenses for fiscal year ending November 30, 2021.  This means that much of the $77 M from the Fund Balance (i.e., reserves) used to balance the 2021 budget will be paid back this fiscal year.
• 2022 Forecast for General Fund:  Currently projecting $80.5 M higher revenues over 2021, but also $140.8 M in higher expenses, largely due to normal yearly increases in salaries.  Thus, currently the gap is $60.3 M which the President and all the officials and departments will be working on to close by the time the proposed 2022 budget is presented to the Board in October.  The County must have a balanced budget by law.
• Health Enterprise Fund:  The Health Fund covers both the “provider side” (which includes the Counties hospitals, clinics, and other costs incurred to provide service, whether patients are able to pay or not) and the “managed care plans” which are for Medicare or Medicaid patients, County Care.
• 2021 Forecast for Health Enterprise Fund:  Project $30.6 M of revenues over expenses.  Number of County Care enrollees greatly exceeds projected numbers, which brings both higher revenues and expenses.
• 2022 Forecast for Health Enterprise Fund:  Currently projecting $381.7 M higher revenues over 2021, but also $442.8 M in higher expenses.  That results in a gap of $61.1 M that will need to be closed prior to the proposed budget being submitted in October.
• Asked how increases in the budgets over the years compare to inflation, CFO Ammar Rizki said that the increases are in line with inflation, if you take out County Care.
• Mr. Rizki also stressed that the County looks for structural solutions to cover any gaps between income and expenses, rather than one-time fixes.  In line with that, Commissioners Sims and Daley stressed that the County needs to be careful about adding more positions in light of the large influx of federal funds, but which won’t be there after the next 2 years.

Public Administrator - Lou Apostol

• The office administers estates of those who die without a will - the past year have done 720 investigations with over 320 cases ongoing
• Stated that their office continued to operate throughout pandemic and intend to continue to use Zoom in the future for their investigations
• Vivian Meyer case is coming to a close after a several year process
• No questions from the commissioners

Assessor - Fritz Kaegi

• The office has undertaken 2 big challenges this year with the City of Chicago reassessments and also moving off the main frame system into an integrated property tax system with modern technology. The Tyler Technologies is the backbone of the system and the Assessor’s office is the first phase of conversion to this system.
• Once the assessments for the City of Chicago are done Assessor Kaegi will have completed the assessments for the entire county since he came into office.
• The new system provides the tools to help with accuracy in assessments. The office has hired staff that can utilize the new tools to maximize transparency and efficiency. 
• His office has been working with the other departments that also deal with the property tax system to get the system up and running.
• Outreach from the Assessors office was managed largely through partnership with the offices of the commissioners and Assessor Kaegi thanked them for that.
• They now have a system that makes it possible to make appointments with their office online.
• He did address the issue about the accuracy of Sr. Freeze Exemptions which has been an issue in the media. He stated that the exemptions were not in conformity with the current guidelines and the office is rectifying the problematic exemptions that were granted previously. 
• In 2019 after he took over the office he requested an audit of the office that was done and presented to the Board that had 23 recommendations for improvement to the office. So far 15 have been implemented despite the interruption of the pandemic. 
• Comm. Daley asked how opening the office would be done. Kaegi said that the office is open now, appointments can be made online and there is a call center in place for questions. 
• Comm. Gainer made the point that changes in the tax structure need to be done and there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the Land Bank and the Scavenger Sale which is actually restoring property to a tax paying status. Education about the system does help people understand how economic development is helping to restore properties to the tax rolls. Kaegi responded by saying that the property tax system is complicated and very confusing for everyone and his office is committed to being transparent about the process and putting out all the data on how the taxes are determined. They want to educate the public about the system. The public knows what goes wrong and his office is trying to fix the things they can address. 
• Comm. Miller asked about the status of the state legislation that would in part require owners to provide property descriptions to assist in the assessment process. Opponents prevented this from being implemented but he said they haven’t given up yet and are hoping it may still be approved by the House in the Veto Session. It was approved by the Senate in 2019.
• Comm. Aguilar asked about fines that are assessed for erroneous exemptions that are claimed. Mr. Kaegi stated that some individuals have been back billed for what they owe. He also stated that the state tax code outlines what fines are allowed and they are trying to integrate with other systems for information so that errors will be avoided. He is also working on a process that will automatically renew exemptions so they don’t have to be claimed every year.

Secretary to the Board - Matt Deleon

• The pandemic made it necessary for the Board to use technology so they could continue to meet and operate. Microsoft Teams has been used for meetings and this required that everyone learn to use the technology. 
• Since technology will most likely be necessary for any hybrid model for future meetings it will be necessary to constantly support and maintain the technology necessary which will have budget implications.  
• There was a $15,000 investment in equipment for the board room to allow for a hybrid model for future meetings. 
• During the pandemic the President and the Board have met often with the public and this will probably need to continue.
• In order to ensure transparency in meetings and communications with the public there will need to be investments in personnel for technical support and for communications. 
• Opening the Archives Office has been in process for a year now since a manager for the office was hired. They are now getting back into a physical presence in their office and utilizing storage space for the items they have been collecting.
• Have been to Jail (Division 1 and 1A are set for demolition soon) and to Oak Forest Hospital to collect items and information for the archives.
• 2031 will be the Cook County Bicentennial Celebration and Matt is hopeful that funds will be solicited to provide private support in addition to any public funds used for the celebration.
• Comm. Anaya asked about what was learned about public testimony during the pandemic. Matt stated that none of the online platforms really lend themselves to public meetings that allow for public participation. Their office has used Teams and utilized breakout rooms to hold public speakers until they were allowed into the meeting for comments. In the future a format will be needed. Matt cautioned against only going to online testimony as there will still need to be an in person option for those who do not have internet access. 

Public Defender - Sharone Mitchell Jr.

• Budget on target for this year
• Challenges for the year were 1. Access to the criminal courts 2. Reducing the Covid 19 risks for their clients 3. Safety measures for employees 
• Continued with their goal of providing police station representation to clients
• Expanded the mental health access for clients
• Immigration unit has been launched although there are still positions to fill and still working an authorization to represent clients in immigration courts
• 13 new attorneys have been hired and there are still 42 positions within the office that need to be filled although they are not all attorney positions. 
• The office is seeking more grant money and has hired a person to work on this.
• The three primary issues going forward are 1. Caseloads continue to be too large 2. Training for all in the office 3. Technology solutions for case loads
• Comm. Daley asked about lessons from the pandemic regarding representation of clients. Mr. Mitchell said that they are still assessing how virtual hearings can be used. Also working on a court notification system to ensure that clients do not miss their court dates.
• Comm. Aguilar asked about the hiring of the immigration lawyers. Mr. Mitchell said the lawyers have not been hired and the job descriptions had to be updated and have now gone to HR. The caseworker and paralegal positions have been posted. 
• Comm. Sean Morrison asked how Covid impacted hearings. Mr. Mitchell stated that access to the courts was slower than in the past. Of the 13,000 cases at the beginning of Covid about half have been resolved. A backlog remains. The court system is beginning to move ahead now and his staff is back in the office. The Speedy Trial Statute was put on hold and will probably be reinstated soon. His office is ready to move forward now.
• Comm. Anaya requested a time frame for when the Immigration Unit will be operational. Mr. Mitchell said they are still working on a time frame. The expect to hire half of the staff this summer and by next summer (2022) they will be fully staffed and operational. Anaya also asked about technology that will be brought into the office. Response was that they are still evaluating the type of technology they need. One of their primary concerns is the retention of digital files. 
• Comm. Suffredin asked about the Speedy Trial Statute. Mr. Mitchell stated that in March 2020 the Illinois Supreme Court suspended the right to a speedy trial but the statute is expected to be reinstated on October 1. Mr. Mitchell says that the statute is the “gas” that moves the system along as it puts pressure on all to move the cases along. Comm. Suffredin said that the court system is going to need funds to ensure that they will be able to handle the cases going forward. 
• Comm. Daley asked about how long it takes to hire attorneys. Mr. Mitchell says it is a long process. The recent attorney hiring process began in January and the 13 new hires are starting in July. An additional 25 are needed. 8 attorneys have left in the last 3 months which is about the normal attrition. The office has just issued their return to work policy. 
• Comm. Sean Morrison asked if there are any areas where virtual hearings can expedite the process. Mr. Mitchell said there is a time and place for virtual meetings/hearings and this will need to be established. Some hearings need to be in person but what is the balance. Comm. Morrison stated that the issue needs to be discussed with your colleagues so the criminal justice process can be “reimagined”.

Observers - Pris Mims and Cynthia Schilsky

Cook County Board of Commissioners - November 19, 2020 
Virtual Meeting 10am-1pm

Public Speakers - Statements read by the Secretary of the Board

• A statement from the League of Women Voters of Cook County (LWVCC) concerning the 2020 3rd Quarter Report from the Office of the Independent Inspector General was read. The item referenced was sent to the Litigation Subcommittee for the December 15 meeting when the Inspector General’s report will be reviewed. (see below)
• There were a number of statements read concerning replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day to be celebrated on the second Tuesday of October.  

Items of Interest:

• Resolution concerning the Annual Calendar of Regular Board Meetings and consent Calendar meetings for calendar year 2021 was approved. There will be 11 Board meetings with no meeting in August. (Agenda Item 20-5487)
• Cook County Justice Advisory Council Annual Report of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Advisory Board was sent to Criminal Justice Committee. (Agenda Item 20-5424)
• Proposed Resolution calling for a Hearing of The Criminal Justice Committee to examine length of stay of detainees for the Cook County Department of Corrections and its effect on Jail populations. This has the support of the Chief Judge, Sheriff, State’s Attorney, Clerk of the Court, Public Defender, and Director of Cermak Health services.  All of the Commissioners were happy to hear this would occur. Commissioner Aquilar voiced concern as his District (16th) has experienced an increase of crime. This item was referred to the Criminal Justice Committee where they will set the date for this Hearing. (Agenda Item 20-5479). 
• Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) quarterly Report 4Q 2020 was referred to the Health and Hospital Committee.
• Office of the Independent Inspector General Quarterly Report for the 3rd quarter was referred to the Litigation Subcommittee. A letter from the LWVCC was read during Public Comment. This letter urged the Board to take appropriate steps to ensure that the Board of Review both address and adopt each of the recommendation of the OIIG, as detailed in both the 2nd Quarter and the 3rd Quarter Reports. (Agenda Item 20-5462). 
• New item was proposed by Commissioner Anaya. This is a proposed Resolution requesting presentations from the Cook County Treasurer and the Cook County Assessor to discuss the impact of increased property taxes on constituents. The Treasurer and Assessor will be invited to present to the Finance Committee the following: Treasurer is asked to present on the major findings of her office’s report, specifically on the areas within Suburban Cook County and the City of Chicago that have seen the greatest differences between an increase in property taxes and an increase in wages and cost of living.   The Cook County Assessor will present on the accuracy of assessments in Cook County and how property tax bills that Cook County taxpayers pay have been impacted. This item was referred to the Finance Committee.  (Agenda Item 20-5667)

Committee Items requiring Board Actions:

• During the report from the Technology Committee, Commissioners emphasized the need for full cooperation especially from the Chief Judge and Sheriff’s office with the Bureau of Technology.

Items for Follow-up

• Inspector General’s 3rd Quarter Report to be reviewed at the December 15 Litigation subcommittee
• Hearing of the Criminal Justice Committee date TBD, to examine length of stay of detainees for Cook County Department of Corrections and its effect on jail population. 
• New item proposed by Commissioner Anaya, a resolution requesting presentations from Cook County Treasurer and Cook County Assessor. 

​Commissioners and President Toni Preckwinkle honored former Commissioner and current Recorder of Deeds, Ed Moody who is retiring in December. 

Observer: Nancy Marcus

Cook County Board Finance Committee Budget Meeting
Monday, Oct. 26, Morning Session

Overview of Proposed Budget:    
    $6.9 B (2021) - $6.2 B (2020) = increase of $0.7 B
     21,820 FTEs (2021) – 22,074 FTEs (2020) = decrease of 254 FTEs
Offices under the President:  
    $1,222.5 M (2021) - $1,041.4 M (2020) = increase of $181.1 M
    1,798 FTEs (2021) – 1,812 FTEs (2020) = decrease of 14 FTEs
(FTE = full time equivalent; 1 FTE is equal to 1 employee working a fulltime job)
Offices under the President include 6 Bureaus and 34 Departments (most of which are under the Bureaus) which encompass the following:  the President’s office and the Justice Advisory Council; the Bureaus of Administration, Asset Management, Economic Development, Finance, Human Resources, and Technology; the County Auditor; the Department of Administrative Hearings; and the Department of Human Rights & Ethics

Assessor:
    $31.12 M (2021) - $29.94 M (2020) = increase of $1.81 M
    276 FTEs (2021) – 277 FTEs (2020) = decrease of 1 FTE

​Highlights from the Overview of the Proposed Budget:

• There are NO TAX INCREASES.
• Most of the $700 million increase from 2020 is due to increased County Care membership (that brings both revenues and expenses) and some increases in new revenues, helping to offset the budgeted reduction in other revenues.  CFO Ammar Rizki stressed that core County services have grown over the last 11 years at an annualized rate of just 1.5%, equal to the inflation rate.  County Care, in contrast, has grown from $96.2 M in 2013 to $2.2 B in 2021.
• FTEs have decreased 9% since 2011
• New sources of revenue are:  online sales tax (budgeted at $80.3 M), cannabis tax ($13.9 M), and sport wagering tax ($3.6 M)
• The gap identified this summer between projected revenues and expenses in the General Fund was eliminated through reduction of some expenditures, additional revenues identified, $50 M to cover allowable expenses in December from the Federal CARES Act, and $76.8 M drawn from the County’s reserves.  CFO Rizki stressed the importance of both the CARES Act money and having a healthy reserve ($400 M as of the end of 2019, the last audited year) that allowed the budget to be balanced.
• Cook County Health (composed of County Care, the managed care program for those on Medicare and Medicaid, and the “service providers,” which are the 2 hospitals and clinics, plus the Public Health Department) makes up $3.3 B of the County’s budget.   This year, the County’s allocation is $122.7 M (an increase of $40 M from 2020) to cover the costs of Public Health and health services for those in the County Jail.  The County also provides $162.6 M in pension support and $136.4 M to cover debt, for a total of $421.7 M.
• The 2021 budget supports close to $100 M in Equity Funding to be invested over the next 2 years in restorative justice, violence prevention, digital equity, public health, workforce training, affordable transportation, and housing assistance.
• The budget includes a supplemental pension amount (drawn from sales tax revenues) of $342 M, so the County is still on track to achieve 100% pension funding by 2047.  Without the extra funding from the sales tax, the projection is that the pension fund would have been insolvent by 2038.

Highlights from the Meeting with the Offices under the President:

• Chief of Staff Lanetta Haynes Turner provide the overview, which was at a very high level, in contrast to prior years where there were presentations by each of the Bureaus and remaining departments.  
• Instead, the presentation focused on how the President’s portion of the budget is being used to carry out her “Policy Roadmap” of Healthy Communities (health and wellness), Vital Communities (economic development), Safe and Thriving Communities (criminal justice), Sustainable Communities (environment and sustainability), Smart Communities (public infrastructure), and Open Communities (good government)
• Commissioner Miller asked about where the money for the Equity Funding came from.  $40 M is from drawing from reserves, but it was stressed that the need to find sustainable funding is now part of the County’s long-term financial planning.  There were few other questions from the Commissioners, and none related to the individual department budgets.  Commissioner Degnen did state she had some line-item questions, but would schedule a separate, private meeting.

Highlights from the Meeting with the Assessor
Assessor Fritz Kaegi Identified several key accomplishments in 2020:

• Over 100,000 online appeals from the initial assessments processed
• 1.07 million online and auto-renewal exemptions
• New, award-winning website
• Roll out of phase 1 of the Tyler Integrated Property Tax System
• No findings of unlawful political discrimination since taking office and significant progress in meeting the requirements under Shakman, including implementing an employment plan, achieving a fully-staffed HR department, conducting performance evaluations for the first time in 10 years, and an updated and finalized employee handbook
• Rebuilding office capacity per the International Association of Assessing Officers audit, including 31 new hires in compliance with Shakman
• Triennial reassessment of South Suburbs
• Dealing with the effects of COVID, which included reducing some assessments across the County.  This will be reflected in the 2nd property tax bill of 2021.

Priorities for 2021 include:

• On-time completion of the City of Chicago triennial reassessment (the City comprises 52% of the total County assessments)
• Continuing to build quality data to provide fair, uniform assessments.  Assessor Kaegi says key to this is passage in Springfield of the Data Modernization Bill, that failed to come out of Committee this spring session.  Assessor Kaegi said that this bill would be particularly useful in correctly assessing smaller properties which aren’t usually correctly reflected in other data sources.
• While Springfield did authorize automatic renewals of the senior exemption, and for this year only, automatic renewals of the senior freeze and veterans with disability exemption, the Assessor hopes to get Springfield to continue such automatic renewals.
• Commissioner Miller asked about the number of appeals in Cook County vs. norms elsewhere.  Assessor Kaegi said they are higher here because of past inaccurate assessments.  First step is to improve the accuracy, which he says his office is doing and keeps working on improving.  Second step is the need for transparency, and he is posting his methodology.  Once people have trust again, the number of appeals should go down.

Again, no questions on the proposed budget, though Commissioner Degnen stated she had already met with the Assessor’s office to raise her questions.

Note: slide presentations given at all these meetings are available under “Meeting Details” for each meeting, which is listed on  https://cook-county.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Observer:  Priscilla Mims