Cook County Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 24, 2022, 10 am to 12:30 pm During the overview of the proposed 2023 budget by the Bureau of Finance and the presentation concerning the Offices under the President, Commissioners Daley, Degnen, Gainer, and Miller focused on the need for an independent evaluation of the programs being funded by the Equity Fund (funds from the County) and by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA funds from the Federal government). The Commissioners suggested regular meetings (quarterly or every two months) to get status reports and to have opportunities for the public to weigh in. The Commissioners noted that the $1 Billion in ARPA funds provides the County with an unprecedented opportunity to make lasting positive changes. But the Commissioners said that there will undoubtedly be ways to improve and the County needs to identify those sooner rather than later. In that regard, Commissioner Degnen suggested there might be a possible budget amendment to add 1 to 2 FTEs to the County Auditor department. Bureau of Finance/Budget Overview - Presented by Interim CFO Lawrence Wilson, Budget Director Annette Guzman, and Deputy CFO Dean Constantinou. Overall budget is $8.75 B (including Capital and Grant funds)
The General Fund portion of the Overall budget of $1.97B is slightly less than 2022. The projected increase in sales tax revenues partly offsets the transfer of Transportation Home Rule Taxes from the General Fund to a Special Purpose Fund and the transfer of Canabis Taxes to the Equity Special Purpose Fund.
The Health Enterprise Fund portion of the Total Overall Budget is $3.99 B. a 3% increase over 2022.
There are also Special Purpose Funds that make up the Overall Budget. The presentation focused on 4 of these:
The County is doing long-term fiscal planning, and projections thru 2027 are that the General Fund revenues are expected to keep pace with expenses and that the Health Fund revenues will be just short of expenses. Under the County’s Fund Balance Policy, the County is using the amount in excess of 3 months of General Fund expenditures to assign $231 M to the Pension Stabilization Fund, Self-Insurance Fund Reserve, Cook County Health Reserve Fund, the Infrastructure and Equipment Fund, and the Equity Fund, along with $30 M to spend in 2023 in the General Fund. The County is also starting to plan for how to determine what ARPA funded programs should continue after 2026 and how to fund them. Offices under the President - Presented by the President’s Chief of Staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner The Offices include the
Office of the Public Administrator - Presented by the Public Administrator Louis G. Apostol
Observer - Priscilla Mims
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Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Meeting October 27 State’s Attorney - Presented by Kimberly Foxx Proposed 2022 Budget: $187,870,209 2021 Budget: $176,029.324 2022 includes $526,335 from the American Rescue Plan Special Purpose Fund Proposed 2022 FTEs: 1,432 2021 FTEs: 1397.4 Highlights: 2021 Initiatives and Outcomes
Operational Opportunities: 2022 Initiatives and Goals
State’s Attorney Foxx’s Remarks
Foxx suggests that there are misunderstandings and even misinformation about how and when felony charges occur in Cook County. She explains the procedure:
Commisioner Questions: Q Do you have any problem hiring staff? A We do well in hiring. We target law students. There are challenges:
Q How is your budget striking the balance to help people feel safe but not criminalizing members of the community? A We prioritize crimes of violence. In the past, resources were going to shoplifting and drug cases. For the last four years, we have focused on gun offenses. Narcotics cases have shrunk because these should be diverted to treatment. This allows more resources to go to violent crime. Q There was a gunfight recently in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. There was a video. Why was no one charged? The mayor used the term “mutual combatants,” indicating that both sides of the incident should be arrested. Should they have been? A The video did not capture the beginning of the conflict. Under the law, people do have the right to defend themselves—and so the beginning is important. In this instance, all of the witnesses said, “I want a lawyer.” The police and we agreed that we had not enough evidence. The mayor’s remarks were disappointing. Frustration cannot lead us to make bad choices. Q How can we help address mental health needs? A Too many mentally ill people are in jail. The felony review team sees that these are mental health situations. But when people go to Mental Health Court, they get more entangled in the system than they need to be. People should be deflected out of the system entirely. But the SA doesn’t have a mechanism to do that--we need robust treatment so that they don’t come to us at all. We have not been thoughtful about the role of trauma and mental health in gun violence. Children who suffer trauma have no access to social workers, therapy. They feel they are better off with a weapon. But a child with a gun easily overreacts, leading to tragedy. Our strategies have not been proactive but reactive We need to figure out how to bring services on the front end. Q What about the budget for dealing with carjackings? A The PA office cannot do anything until the police bring cases to them. The case-clearing by the police for carjackings is only about 12%. Observer - Janet Kittlaus Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings Oct. 26, 2021 The meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. was held at 10:30 due to CCH scheduling issues. It continued until 1:15 for 2 hours and 45 minutes due to commissioner questioning and compliments. Cook County Health - presented by CEO Israel Rocha and former Interim Budget Officer, Andrea Gibson Proposed 2022 Budget: $ 3.889 Billion 2021 Budget: $3.388 Billion Proposed 2022 FTEs: 7,560 2021 FTEs: 6,803 CEO Rocha’s comments Both internal and external factors were considered in developing the 2022 budget; and while he stated that this is a conservative budget, he also stated that is has taken into consideration the importance of meeting the needs of patients, staff, and growth challenges. Health Equity runs through all budget allocations. 2021 Accomplishments
Commissioner Questions
Diane Edmundson - Observer Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings: October 27, 2021 This report covers the meetings with the Chief Judge and the Land Bank. Chief Judge presented by Honorable Tim Evans Proposed 2022 Budget: $287,915,856 2021 Budget: $273,508,315 (2022 includes $1.9 M from American Rescue Plan funds) Proposed 2022 FTEs: 2,906.6 2021 FTEs: 2,872.6 (2022 includes 29 FTEs from American Rescue Plan funds) The Chief Judge’s office is the administrative office serving the Circuit Court of Cook County. The office supervises non-judicial employees who provide a wide range of services including judicial support, probation, guardianship, Juvenile Detention, clinical and other support. The Chief Judge stated that the Chief Judges Office is more than hearings in Court and emphasized the good work they are doing with the money that they are given. Some of the highlighted offices under the Chief Judge include:
Chief Judge Evans will submit 2 amendments to the Chief Judge’s budget:
Land Bank Authority presented by Eleanor Gorski, Executive Director Proposed 2022 Budget: 15,020,440 2021 Budget: 15,232,149 Proposed FTEs: 13 2021 FTES: 12 The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) will acquire, hold, and transfer interest in real property throughout Cook County to promote redevelopment and reuse of vacant, abandoned, foreclosed, or tax delinquent properties, and support targeted efforts to stabilize neighborhoods. Executive Director Gorski began her job in August of 2021.
CCLBA Outlook for 2022 that will keep administrative costs flat. Some of the highlights include:
Observer: Nancy Marcus Cook County Board Finance Committee
Budget Meetings Oct. 27 Sheriff Budget presented by Sheriff Tom Dart Proposed 2022 Budget: $619,404,166 2021 Budget: $593,629,147 Proposed 2022 FTEs: 5,826 2021 FTEs: 5,647 The Sheriff has the following departments: the Office of the Sheriff, Administration & Human Resources, Office of professional Review and Professional Integrity Special Investigations, Information Technology, Court Services Division (staffing the courts), Police Department (covering unincorporated areas, but also providing police services under intergovt. agreements to a number of different suburbs and Chicago), Community Corrections Department (responsible for Electronic Monitoring), Department of Corrections (staffing the jail and providing services during and after release from jail), and Sheriff’s Merit Board (responsible for vetting potential new hires and promotions and conducting disciplinary hearings). While overall there is a large increase in FTEs proposed (+179), there is a reduction in the Department of Corrections (-57). Some key points from the meeting: Policing:
Observer: Priscilla Mims Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings: Day 2 October 26, 2021 Cook County Public Defender - presented by Sharone Mitchell and staff Proposed 2022 Budget - $84,102,421 2021 Budget - $80,839,889 (Both include General Funds, Special Purpose Funds and Grant Funds) Proposed 2022 - 750 FTEs 2021 - 700 FTEs Presentation by Sharone Mitchell focused on 4 Challenges within the office. 1. Caseloads/Workloads
Cook County Clerk - presented by Karen Yarborough Proposed 2022 Budget - $76,502,087 2021 Budget - $56,472,352 (Includes Corporate Funds, Election Fund, Special Purpose Funds, Grant Funds) 2022 includes $8,823,854 allocated from the American Rescue Plan Special Purpose Fund Proposed 2022 - 348 FTEs 2021 - 350 FTEs Highlights of Presentation by Clerk Yarborough Elections
Clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County - Presented by Iris Martinez and Staff Proposed 2022 Budget - $125,285,335 2021 Budget - $120,480,906 (Includes General Funds, Special Purpose Funds and Grants) 2022 budget includes $4,345,794 allocated from the American Rescue Plan SP Fund Proposed 2022 - 1479 FTEs 2021 Budget - 1386 FTEs 2022 includes 25 FTEs under the American Rescue Plan Highlights of Presentation by Iris Martinez
Board of Review - Commissioners Larry Rogers, Michael Cabonargi, and Tammy Wendt Proposed 2022 Budget - $15,686,657 2021 Budget - $14,072,527 2022 budget includes $1,064,256 allocated from the American Rescue Plan SP Fund Proposed 2022 - 151 FTEs 2021 Budget - 142 FTEs 2022 includes 9 FTEs under the American Rescue Plan Highlights of Presentation by Larry Rogers
Questions/Comments from the Cook County Board Commissioners
Item of Note:
Observer: Cynthia Schilsky |
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