Cook County Board Finance Committee 2025 Proposed Budget Hearings

Finance Committee of the Cook County Board
2025 Proposed Budget Review Meetings
​October 28, 2024 - Part #1

Bureau of Finance - Tanya Anthony - CFO, Kanoko Ishida Musselwhite - Budget Director, Dean Constantinou - Deputy CFO
    2025 Proposed Budget for the Bureau 
        General Funds                     $ 37,529,080
        Special Purpose Funds     $499,036,034
        Restricted  Funds                $       100,000
        Total                                        $536,665,114
    2025 Proposed FTEs - 306

Overview of the Proposed Executive Budget 

• County is fiscally strong, Reserves will be maintained, Credit Ratings are good
• $9.9B budget proposed - an increase of 6.8% from last year with $9.24 in the Operating Budget
• Proposed 23,308 FTEs -  Decrease of 56 FTEs - no layoffs - elimination of empty positions
• The budget is now balanced with an increase in projected revenues of $182M and a decrease in expenses of $145M from the proposed preliminary budget
• General Fund is $2.19B
• Health Enterprise Fund (HEF) is 53% of the budget at $5.15B - an increase of 20.9% from last year - CountyCare provides 63% of the revenue for the HEF and enrollment in CountyCare is now fairly stable - 73% of expenses of HEF are contractual costs
• Special Purpose Funds - there are now 40 funds - new ones established within last year are Opioid Remediation Fund - Infrastructure and Equipment Fund - includes funds for installation of solar panels on county buildings  - Disaster Response and Emergency Fund - added an additional $50M to the $50M remaining for a total of $100M in fund
• Equity Fund - $40M for the 3rd installment to the fund
• Long Term fiscal Planning - expect Revenues to increase by 2.3% and expenses to grow by 2.7% so projecting deficits by 2027 - so Fund Balance provides insurance as well as looking for new sources of revenue
• Pension Fund allocation is $573M as County continues to pay down their liabilities over 30 years - until 2047
• ARPA Updates - County Received $1B that needs to be obligated by the end of the year - 80% dedicated to Community Programs (73 programs funded) and 20% for Operating Expenses - Of the Community Programs 84% is obligated and 42% has been expended - for Operating Costs 84% obligated and 78% expended - Now in the process of obligating remaining funds and determining which programs will be continued beyond use of ARPA funding

Questions/Comments from Commissioners - there were many - key topics raised

• Will any debt be refinanced? - largely locked in for this year but will reevaluate over next few quarters in particular with new issuance next August
• Solar Panels - Will they generate revenue for the County? $15M investment to install with a life span of 20 years expected to generate savings and anticipate that credits from the Federal Government will cover at least 50% of installation cost
• Revenue Sources - How does a health fund surplus relate to the overall budget? Are the Special Purpose Funds adequately funded? The process for identifying new revenue sources starts with the Revenue Forecasting Group then the Executive Committee and then to the board. If commissioners have suggestions they should submit them to the Finance Bureau to ensure they are allowable.
• Overtime - The projections have overall been accurate. Is there a better way to reflect short staffing than amount of overtime paid? Public Safety has the most OT with the Sheriff paying about $65M. OT is included in the budgets for the departments. 
• Investments should be moved away from those in fossil fuels.
• Asked if all of ARPA funds will be obligated by the end of the year and the answer was yes. 
• Grants Management - large increase in the amount of grant funds coming into the County. By the end of next year there will be 10-12 staff dedicated to managing grants throughout the County offices.
• Requested more transparency in the collection of delinquent taxes and in the TIF funds received from the City of Chicago. 
• Reserve Funds - Policy is that the fund is based on maintaining the amount to cover between 2 months (floor) and 3 months (ceiling) of expenses

Presentation and Questions lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes. 

Offices Under the President - Presentation by Lanetta Haynes Turner, Chief of Staff for Pres. Preckwinkel and Bureau/Department Heads available to answer questions
Includes following: Bureau of Asset Management, Bureau of Human Resources, Bureau of Economic Development, Bureau of Administration, Bureau of Technology, Bureau of Finance, Department of Human Rights, Department of Administrative Hearings, Auditor, Offices of the President, Justice Advisory Council

    2025 Proposed Budget (General Funds Only) -  $221M
    2025 Proposed FTEs - 1619

Overview: 

• Proposed budget of $221M in the General Fund across all offices under the President. An increase of $9.9M from last year - or 5%. 
• Personnel is 84% of the budget. Proposed FTEs is 1619 an increase of 8 FTEs. There are 294 vacancies or 18% at the present time but that is a decrease from a 24% vacancy rate at the start of the year. HR continues to make efforts to increase hiring.
• Initiatives and Projects highlighted that are part of the proposed budget:
  • AI - a $4M pilot project to see how AI can be used in the County
  • The Office of Contract Compliance and the Procurement Office are consolidating with the expectation that this will make for a better and faster process.
  • A Grants Office is being formed that is part of the grants infrastructure optimization and result in better oversight of grants. 
  • As part of investment in employees money is allocated to cover the cost of copays for mental health counseling for all employees. 
  • 211 Services are being enhanced in collaboration with the City of Chicago and the United Way. 
  • Environmental Sustainability Initiatives that will move the County towards their goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.
  • Performance Management Strategy that will align departments with the overall County goals and enhance the use of Data for a wholistic approach across the County.

Commissioner Questions/Responses: 

• Several focused on concerns with job vacancies throughout the County and how HR intends to fill the positions. Also questions on the use of contractual services and how they are used. Is there a way of determining if use of contract employees would be more cost effective than continued efforts to fill vacant positions - and how this relates to overtime costs. 
• Grant oversight was another area of concern. Since the amount of grant funding is considerably increased there is concern about oversight and will this be what the new Grants Office will be doing. The JAC was asked if they have adequate staff to oversee the nearly 200 grants they are administering. They have 9 people doing compliance. 
• The Bureau of Human Resources is reorganizing and moving 2 Departments into the Bureau with a reduction of 6 FTEs. 
• Audit Office has the highest vacancy rate in the County with a 62% of positions vacant. 2 positions that were established to monitor ARPA funds were never able to be filled and have been eliminated. At the present time there are 4 Field auditors with one dedicated to the Forest Preserve District. 
• Several questions about 211 system - how is outreach to the County being done so that constituents are aware of what the system is about? Are services really available if someone calls that number?
• Questions about the development of guidelines for the use of AI. Who is doing this and will the Federal Guidelines be utilized?
• Several questions about the process for determining the continuation of ARPA projects. What is the timeline for making the determination and when in the process will the Commissioners get their say?
• Consolidation of the Electronic Monitoring Programs of the Sheriff and the Chief Judge was raised. It was indicated that the JAC has been charged with facilitating the efforts to consolidate the 2 programs.
• Availability of a data base of those properties that receive tax incentives was raised but apparently there is none and it was noted that followup on those that are granted is generally left to the municipalities that submit the requests. 
• Most questions during this session dealt with the different programs run by the Bureaus and Departments under the President - but most questions did not deal with the actual budget numbers.

Presentation and Questions lasted 3 hours. 

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

October 28, 2024 (Part #2)
​Board of Review, Veterans Assistance Commission, and Office of the Public Administrator

Board of Review (BoR):  Commissioners Samantha Steele (chair), George As. Cardenas, and Larry R. Rogers. Jr.
     2025 Proposed Budget:  $21,295,644
    2025 Proposed FTEs:    167

This office considers appeals of property tax assessments determined by the Assessor.  The office also is responsible for defending final assessments appealed to the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board (PTAB)

Highlights of 2024 presented by the Board include

• 2nd installment property tax bills going out on time for first time in several years (thanking the staff which made this happen)
• Completion of the interface between the BoR computer system and that of the Assessor (which was also a big part of getting the tax bills out on time)
• Adding Taleo system (used by most of the rest of the County) for use in hiring.
• For the 2023 property taxes paid in 2024, there were 246,774 appeals of assessments to the BoR, with 43.9% being granted a lower assessment

Proposed 2025 budget

• The increase over 2024 is $1,083,270.  Comm. Rogers said that most of this due to cost-of-living increases for employees, but also includes an additional $250.000 for overtime for a proposed total of $1,250,000
• BoR presented a chart showing the differences in overtime among the 3 Commissioners’ staffs, with District 1 (Comm. Cardenas) having over $450,000 thus far for 2024, District 2 (Comm. Steele) having about $350,000, and District 3 (Comm. Rogers) having somewhat less than $200,000.  Comm. Cardenas said that his staff took the first pass at reviewing appeals, which is why he had the largest overtime;  Comm. Rogers said that he had the most experienced staff which likely resulted in less overtime.
• Comm. Gainer asked whether there is any thought to using some “contract services” (such as retired BoR employees) during some periods to reduce the overtime, stressing that may be better than risking losing employees who burn out or otherwise don’t want the overtime.
• Comm. Gainer also asked whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be useful, suggesting that the BoR consider hiring a consultant to see how AI could be used and how some of the work could be off-loaded.
• There is no proposed change in FTEs from 2024

One change coming in 2025 is that part of the workforce is being unionized for the first time and labor negotiations are underway.  It is unclear how this might impact the budget in the future.  Comm. Britton and Aguillar both commented on the apparent tensions among the Commissioners.

Veterans Assistance Commission:  Elizabeth Soto
    2025 Proposed Budget:  $2,749,020
    2025 Proposed FTEs:           14

This office is to provide immediate financial aid and other services to veterans, partnering with other community organizations and local government agencies.  The Budget Book states that for most of the year, there were only 3 full-time employees, though the current approved FTE is 11.  Currently, the office is located in the basement of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Proposed 2025 budget:

• 3 more FTEs to be added and a total budget increase of $749,021.
• Expect to fill the open positions for 2024 plus these additional.
• The 3 new FTEs to be Veteran Service Officers, covering different areas of the County (North and Northwest, Chicago, and South and Southwest)

Speakers

• While the public hearing has already been held on the budget, leave was granted to hear from many veterans representing different posts throughout the County
• Many urged that more money be allocated and more employees be hired and more offices be added to provide more assistance.
• The Commissioners were surprised to learn that the initial ask from the Commission was for there to be a Veteran Service Officer hired for each Commissioner’s office.  This is a brand new position and the decision was to start with the 3 proposed.

Office of the Public Administrator:  Louis G. Apostol
    2025 Proposed Budget:  $1,889,599
    2025 Proposed FTEs:    15

This office administers estates (including any real property) of deceased County residents where there is no will or the executor is unable to administer until the estates can be disbursed to lawful inheritors.  

• Any such estate must be worth at least $10,000.
• The office produces more revenues for the County than its total budget.  Fees for administration are on a sliding scale based on the value of the estate, with lower fees for larger estates since the amount of work is generally the same no matter what the value of the estate is.
• Comm. Stamps wanted to know if the office administers more estates from disadvantaged areas, which Mr. Apostol did not know, though he stressed that the deceased were from all areas of the County.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims